Vestiges of the Heart Vol 1: Covenant
by Eternal Opus
Summary: The struggle against Organization XIII is over and Sora, Riku, and Kairi have returned home. But when Riku and Kairi suddenly leave, Sora must find out why. Meanwhile, old foes are back and the struggle has only begun. FINAL CHAPTER IS NOW UP.
1. Chapter 1: Meet, Discover, Search

**Vestiges of the Heart**

**A Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction by Eternal Opus**

**Volume One – Covenant**

**Chapter 1: Meet, Discover, Search**

_*****Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. Please read at your own risk.*****_

As his reflection in the calm water stared back at him, thoughts of Sora's friends drifted through his mind, like leaves across the wind. Not once did he ever think this would happen, not after all they had been through together. He wondered for a moment if he would ever see them again. Them. It pained Sora to think of their names. He half-wished that Naminé could change his memories around so he could forget them. But Naminé was gone, too.

Sora stood still until the sunset flashed in his eyes, abruptly putting and end to his hurtful reverie. _There's got to be a way to put all of this behind me_, he thought to himself. He stared longingly at the crimson and violet fusion the sun was reflecting into the ocean. A ripple formed underneath him; a single tear fell, breaking the serenity of the water. He had promised himself he wouldn't cry anymore. _So much for that_.

He didn't go home that night; he was much too tired for that. Instead, he stared at the sunset until it faded under the horizon. _It doesn't have to be like this_, Sora heard a familiar voice say. He almost turned around to see who had spoken, but he knew nobody was there. _A_ Nobody to be exact. At least he still had his other half, Roxas.

_Then why did it happen?_ Sora replied in his head.

_We'll never know unless we find out. Go to the Secret Place. Maybe the door will appear._

_I can't, Roxas, I just—can't. It's…it would hurt me too much._

Roxas knew there was no convincing half of himself so he dropped his appeal. Eventually they would be drawn to the others. It just _had_ to happen. But Sora had given up hope.

He was just about to fall asleep on the sand when—

_Sora!_

_!!_

He jumped up and fell head first into the water. Spluttering, he got up and looked around frantically. Whose voice was that? "Hello?" he called out to the night. No answer. "Is anybody there?"

"Sora?" The voice was out loud this time; a girl's voice, a very familiar girl's voice.

"Who's there?" Sora called out again, getting more and more frustrated every second. "If nobody's there, then stop calling my name!"

"Nobody? Ouch, that really hurts, kiddo."

That moment, Sora finally saw the body the voice belonged to. He couldn't believe his eyes! What was _she_ doing here? She was supposed to be dead! Well, as close to dead as she could be. Sora stared blankly at her; she had a scar on her right cheek which was coated with fresh tears. She was not the same person Sora remembered; he could see that very plainly.

* * *

"…but why can't we go back now?" He didn't answer her. Instead, he just stood there with his back to her. He was staring intently at something she could not see.

"Shh, I think it might be here."

"_Here_? Are you sure?"

"Kairi, I said it _might_ be here. Come over here and help me look for it."

"I'm not helping you look for anything until you tell me what it is we're trying to find! And why did we have to sneak off like that? You know, he's probably looking for us right now. What's he going to think when we're not there?"

"Kairi, listen to me, okay? Sora is in danger and if we had brought him with us, it would just make things worse for him. Do you want something horrible to happen to Sora? Huh?"

Kairi was silent. The words were stuck at the base of her throat, just dying to escape, dying to bring tears with them. She loved him too much to even imagine him being hurt, let alone know that she was the cause of it.

"_Huh_, Kairi? Answer me!"

"No! I don't want him to get hurt!" Kairi screamed. Riku let her fall to her knees as she began sobbing. She hadn't cried yet this entire time, and he knew that she needed this release now or she surely wouldn't make it much farther. Better for her to fall to pieces now; more time to put them back together once this ordeal was over and done with. She had no clue how much anguish he was feeling over this. He didn't want to hurt Sora any more than Kairi did, but there was no avoiding it this time.

Suddenly, Riku and Kairi saw a faint light glowing from a nearby crevice in the cavern's wall. Kairi wiped her tears and as they both approached the light, its radiance blinding them. They pressed on, the light grower brighter and brighter with each step they took.

Then they saw it: a brilliant heart-shaped crystal floating above a granite pedestal of sorts. The light dimmed as soon as Riku, who lead, approached it.

"This is it," he whispered over his shoulder to Kairi. "This is the Illumina Heart."

"Illumina…Heart?" Kairi said, her composure now slowly returning to her. "It's…so beautiful! This is what we need?"

"Yeah. This will save him. This will save all of us!"

"Oh yes, it could save us all," a malevolent yet delicate voice breathed behind them.

Riku and Kairi whipped around only to see a single rose petal float gently to the ground. Just then, the light from the Illumina Heart went out. "It's gone!" Kairi exclaimed, horrified.

"Who did that voice belong to?" Riku said. "WHO ARE YOU?!"

"Riku, he's gone. He took the Illumina Heart. Now what do we do?"

"We have to get out of here and find whoever took it! Let's go!"

He took off down the long stone passageway of the cavern, Kairi at his heels. Just when they first caught sight of the light from the outside, a tremor brought them both tumbling down to the ground. The cavern started shaking violently. In a matter of mere seconds, the outside was sealed away from the two friends, along with any hope of retrieving the Illumina Heart after it had been snatched away from them as quickly as they had glimpsed it.

* * *

Tifa had just finished her daily patrol of Radiant Garden when she got yet another call from him. _What is it with this guy? I still don't even know his name!_ Hesitantly she took the phone out of her pocket and checked the caller I.D. _Figures, it's a private number._ She knew who it was right away.

"Listen," she said as soon as she flipped the phone open, "you better tell me who you are _right_ _now_! No more games! You keep asking me for my help and I've done as well as I can so far but enough is enough! It's kind of hard to help someone I don't know."

"I can't tell you my name right now, Tifa," he said. "Just give me some time and I'll be able to meet you in person."

"Then will you tell me your name and why you need my help? And for what, exactly?"

"Yes. But for now, I just need you to trust me. It will only be like this for a little while longer. Will you stick with me?"

"Fine," Tifa agreed, reluctantly. "As long as you _promise_ me that I can meet you and find out who you are and what you're all about."

"I promise," the man said. "I just called to ask you if you could put me through to Cloud or Squall, please."

"He goes by 'Leon' now," Tifa said. "He hasn't been known as 'Squall' for years."

"I know, but I've always know of him as Squall Leonhart. Are either he or Cloud available?"

"Not at the moment," Tifa answered, "but would you be willing to talk to Aerith?"

"No, that's okay," said the man. "I need to speak to either Cloud or…_Leon_."

"Can I at least have your number so I can call you when one of them gets back?"

"That won't be necessary, Tifa. I'll know when to call back. Thank you so much." And he hung up, leaving Tifa more confused than ever. She decided to go see what Cid and Yuffie were up to.

Cid and Yuffie were finishing stocking Gummi Ship parts at Cid's store when Tifa walked in. "Tifa!" Yuffie said. "How was your patrol?"

"It went alright," replied Tifa. "No Heartless or Nobodies to speak of, so that's a good sign."

"They've been gone for a while, haven't they?" said Yuffie in amazed relief. "I hope they don't ever come back! It wouldn't be pretty for them, I'll tell you that!"

"You got that right!" Cid exclaimed. "Those dang monsters were gettin' on my nerves! People were too afraid to go outside and shop at my store! Bad for business! I'm tellin' ya, if those creeps ever come back, I'll be packin' a wallop upside all of 'em, mark my words!" He started punching and kicking the air, barely missing Tifa and Yuffie.

"Hey, watch it!" yelled Yuffie. Cid just laughed.

"So what's on you mind, Tifa?" asked Cid. "You look worried about something."

"Huh?" Tifa was halfway in a daydream. "Um, nothing's wrong. I'm just thinking."

"About what?" Yuffie asked. "Come on, tell us!"

"Well," Tifa began, "a few weeks ago I got a call from this guy. The number on the call display was 'private.' When I answered it, instead of telling me who he was, he asked me to search Hollow Bastion. I thought maybe he meant the town and didn't know it was called Radiant Garden again, but he told me he meant Ansem's castle. He asked me to look for something called the Illumina Heart. I asked him what it was, but all he would tell me was that it was very important and that people would be in danger unless I found it. So every few days for the last three weeks he's been calling me to see if I've had any luck finding this Illumina Heart."

"So that's why you volunteered to take up the patrol," Yuffie said. "Have you had any luck yet?"

"Not at all. I haven't even found anything that might suggest that it's even here. I've searched the castle, the town, everywhere for almost a month and nothing at all! And I still don't know his name or why he needs this thing!" She looked at Cid, then at Yuffie, both of whom looked just as confused as she did.

"Well, I'm sure you'll find some sort of clue," Cid reassured her. "If you want, we'll help you."

"Yeah!" Yuffie agreed. "And we'll get Cloud, Leon, Aerith, and Merlin to help, too! Maybe even the Gullwings!"

"You rang?"

Seemingly out of nowhere came three little pixies, the Gullwings: Yuna, Rikku, and Paine. They were mischievous treasure hunters, sometimes up to no good, but they weren't bad girls. On the contrary, they were quite helpful and knew where a lot of secret passages, nooks, and crannies were around Radiant Garden, and possibly other worlds as well.

"Gullwings, at your service!" cried Yuna.

"We're here to help!" squeaked Rikku.

"For a price," snickered Paine.

"Oh, come on!" said Yuffie in exasperation.

"We've given you a lot of treasure, girls," Tifa said. "Why does everything have to come with a cost, huh? Can't you do anything out of goodwill? You know, for free?"

"Huddle!" called Yuna to the other Gullwings. The whispered rapidly to each other. Nodoby could hear them, not even Yuffie who held her ear right up to the treasure hunters.

"Alright," Paine began. "We'll make you a deal. If you give us a cut of the loot, we'll find it for you. How's that sound? We're willing to settle for twenty percent."

"Twenty percent?!" cried Yuffie. "No—"

"—Deal," Tifa assented. Yuffie almost feel over in shock.

"W-w-what?" she stammered.

"I said it's a deal," Tifa replied simply. "I need to find the Illumina Heart and I could use their help. If that's the price I have to pay, then fine."

"But how—"

"—Remember, it's called the 'Illumina Heart.' Got that?"

"Yup, yup!' Rikku called out as she and her comrades flew off to find the exciting treasure.

"Tifa, you're not actually gonna give them twenty percent of a heart, are you?" asked Cid. "I mean, how's that even possible?"

"It's probably not an actual heart, Cid," she replied. "Besides, I'm not actually going to give them the heart. I'll find something else of value. But you're going to have to haggle since you're good at the sort of thing and I'm, well…I'm not." She laughed a little.

Her heart skipped a beat as her phone rang again. This time the caller I.D. said "Cloud." "Hello?" Tifa answered.

"Tifa!" Cloud shouted. "Help!"

"What's wrong?" Tifa said, frightened.

"It's Leon! He's—something's wrong with him!"

"Where are you? What's going on?"

"We're down at the Great Maw, but something's happening to Leon! He just keeled over and now he's writhing all over the ground! He's in pain and I don't know what to do! Get down here with Aerith! Please!"

"Okay! We'll be right there!" She hung up the phone and dashed off to Merlin's house to find Aerith.

"Tifa!" Yuffie and Cid called after her, but she was already gone.


	2. Chapter 2: An Explanation

**Chapter 2: An Explanation**

_*****Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. Please read at your own risk.*****_

_What a warm welcome!_ Larxene thought to herself. Even her own personal thoughts were riddled with sarcasm. At least she still had that to keep her together. She looked at Sora whose face was full of shock and contained just a hint of anger. _Looks like this kid's got some difficulty letting go. It's not like I _wanted _Naminé to put him through all that. Oh, who am I kidding? I enjoyed it. Huh, I guess he does have a right to be angry. But Naminé put his memories back together, didn't she? And we all got what we deserved._

"Sora…" She didn't entirely expect him to recognise her: she had been told that in order for Naminé to restore Sora's real memories, she had to make him forget everything that had happened in Castle Oblivion, which now seemed ages ago to Larxene, who had met her downfall there at the hands of Sora himself. Now it was almost like none of it had ever happened.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Sora demanded.

_He knows who I am!_ _Of course, Roxas must have told him about me, maybe the other members, too. And he probably told Sora about the Castle Oblivion mission. _"I came to ask you for your help, you little smart mouth," Larxene snapped back.

"Oh yeah? Well what makes you think I'd want to help you? After all you've done to us! Forcing Naminé to mess around with Donald's, Goofy's, and my memories, Kairi's, too! I'm not helping you! You hurt my friends and me! Roxas and Naminé told me everything! Besides, didn't I finish you off in Castle Oblivion already?"

"I know that! And yes, I thought I was done for, too. But something happened. I'm not sure what, but here I am! And I want to fix what I did wrong. Give me a chance, Sora! Please!"

"NO!" Larxene saw that Sora was angrier than she had ever seen him. She was telling the truth—for once—but perhaps it was too late. Maybe she'd have to find somebody else—no, Sora was her only hope.

"Please, just listen to me! I'm not the same Larxene you knew in Castle Oblivion. I've changed, I swear! This is the closest to having a heart that I've ever felt! Please…" She couldn't go on. She started crying, something that was supposed to be impossible for a Nobody since they didn't have hearts. But when Larxene had come back from wherever she had been, she felt different. She _was_ different. How else could she have cried after getting cut during the fight with Zexion? How else could she be crying now, as she begged for Sora to at least hear her out?

"You're—you're _crying_," Sora said in utter shock.

"Y—yeah," Larxene managed. "Not like you'd care!"

"But how? Nobodies don't have hearts. They can't cry or have any real emotions."

"I think I'm aware of that! After all, I _am_ one! But something's happened to me. It feels like I have a heart, or something like it resonating within me. It's the strangest thing, but I—I _like it_. It makes me feel, I don't know, _human_.

"Somebody who couldn't feel emotion can't fake it. You _are_ telling the truth!"

"Finally you believe me!" Larxene gasped. "I feel terrible for being a part of that whole scheme! But Naminé put everyone's memories back together, right? So what's the big deal? You put Organization XIII in its place, so there! Happy now?"

"Listen, Larxene…" Sora started to say. "I forgive you."

"Huh?" She couldn't believe he was being so reasonable. But of course, he actually _had_ a heart, so maybe she just didn't understand.

"I said I forgive you, Larxene. I mean, I forgave Naminé, right? Sure, you, Axel, Vexen, and Marluxia made her do it, but if you're really sorry, it's just not in me to hold a grudge. Not to mention, I can't remember it. I only know what happened because Roxas and Naminé told me once we all came back home to Destiny Islands."

_That's right._ Larxene jumped at the sound of Roxas' voice. How could she hear him? He was one with Sora again, wasn't he? _But he's Sora's Nobody. And I'm a Nobody too, albeit a really freaky one now._

_Oh, come on, Larxene! You're not a freak at all._

"We can hear each other's thoughts!" Larxene cried. "Roxas and I, I mean."

"It's because you're both Nobodies, right?" Sora asked.

"I guess so, but we couldn't do that before. Unless…"

"Unless what?"

Larxene paused for a moment. This was all too crazy for her. How were she and Roxas hearing each other's thoughts? _It must have something to do with how I've changed. I'm not a normal Nobody anymore and I always felt that Roxas was different, too._

_It's crazy, isn't it?_ Roxas asked her.

"Hey!" yelled Sora. "Let me in on the conversation!"

"Sorry," said Larxene. "We're just trying to figure out what's so special about us that is allowing us to hear one another's thoughts. It's really creeping me out!"

"That is weird," Sora agreed. "But I'm sure we'll figure it out sooner or later. So what do you need my help with?"

"You're a really good guy, you know that? Thanks!" _Am I really hearing this? He actually wants to help me when he hated my guts two minutes ago? Humph, guess I can't expect any less from the Keyblade Master. _"Well, as you can see, my beautiful face has been marred. You wanna know how?"

"Um, sure."

"It was Zexion! He copied my kunai while we were fighting and he cut me! The nerve!"

"Wait, what were you two fighting about? And who's Zexion? He was an Organization member too, right?"

"Yeah. Oh, that's right! You never fought him, did you? Riku was the one who did that. You see, Castle Oblivion has twelve basement floors as well as the thirteen floors you were on. Zexion and Lexaeus were stationed down there. Axel, Marluxia, and I were in charge of the floors above ground, and Vexen travelled between all the floors. See, what happened was this, and pay attention 'cuz it gets a little complicated:

"Now, you obviously know a little bit about Organization XIII and how all the members are special Nobodies that kept a humanoid form, so let's start there. You know how a Nobody is formed, right?"

"Yeah," replied Sora. "When a person loses their heart, they become a Heartless, and when that happens, a Nobody is also created."

"Mhmm," muttered Larxene. "Very good, Sora. You're such a genius! But that's elementary knowledge—the basics! You know about _all_ our members?"

"Yeah, there's Xemnas, 'The Superior.' He was the leader and I took him down because he wanted to take the power of Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds. Then there's Xigbar, 'The Freeshooter.' I beat him in The World That Never Was. I defeated Xaldin, 'The Whirlwind Lancer' at Beast's Castle because he was trying to turn the Beast into a Heartless. Then there was Vexen, 'The Chilly Academic,' right? Roxas said I defeated him at Castle Oblivion but then Axel, 'The Flurry of Dancing Flames' finished him off. I actually remember meeting Axel shortly before I went to take on Xemnas. In fact, if it weren't for Axel's sacrifice, I wouldn't have made it to Xemnas at all."

"So it's true," Larxene lamented. "He sacrificed himself to help you get to Xemnas after all. Always such a trooper."

"Yeah, I really owe him a lot. Anyway, then there's Lexaeus, 'The Silent Hero.' You said he was in Castle Oblivion, didn't you? Roxas said that I never met him there. Same with Zexion, 'The Cloaked Schemer.' But Riku told me he did. Naminé didn't mess with his memories, it looks like. He also mentioned that Vexen made a Riku…Replica?"

"Yeah, that was the Riku that kept fighting you in Castle Oblivion. When Naminé planted those false memories in you, she put the same ones in the Riku Replica. It was all part of our plan to gain control over you."

"Naminé mentioned that—through Kairi," Sora said. He looked slightly in pain as he said Kairi's name. "Anyway, then there's Saïx, 'The Luna Diviner,' whom I beat in The World That Never Was; Demyx, 'The Melodious Nocturne,' whom I creamed in Hollow Bastion—sorry, Radiant Garden; Luxord, 'The Gamble of Fate,' and I remember beating him in the stupid little time game and finishing him off for good. Naminé said that I beat Marluxia, 'The Graceful Assassin' on the thirteenth floor of Castle Oblivion, and you, 'The Savage Nymph' in Castle Oblivion as well. And Roxas, 'The Key of Destiny,' is _my_ Nobody."

"Very good!" Larxene congratulated Sora in a half-mocking tone. "You seem to already know a lot about what happened in Castle Oblivion and what we made Naminé do to you. Good. Do you know what happened while you were in that pod while your memories were being restored? Or why we were even in Castle Oblivion at all?"

"Not really. I don't know the whole story."

"Well then," Larxene said, sitting down on the beach, "pop a squat, kiddo, 'cuz I'm gonna tell you a story."

* * *

Riku and Kairi, with their Keyblades in hand, tried to smash away the boulders blocking the cave's entrance, but to no avail. "We're trapped!" yelled Riku. "And the Heart is gone! AAAAAAAAH!"

"Riku, calm down!" Kairi begged. "You freaking out isn't helping at all! Just relax for a minute and explain to me what exactly is going on."

Riku sighed. _Count to ten_, he told himself. _1, 2, 3—I know who did this! 4, 5—Lexaeus caused that earthquake, the scum! 6, 7, 8, 9—and that rose petal on the ground, who could have left it there? 10._

"Marluxia!" Riku spat all of a sudden, making Kairi jump. He stole the Illumina Heart! And then Lexaeus made the earthquake and blocked the entrance so we couldn't get out! But I thought I finished Lexaeus in Castle Oblivion! And didn't Sora defeat Marluxia?"

"I thought so, too," said Kairi. "But they're not actually _human_, are they? So maybe they can't die."

"But they can still be destroyed," Riku replied. "Just like any Heartless, Nobody, or human, they can still be destroyed. They just don't _die_ like humans do, that's all."

"Well, what can we do? We're stuck here and we don't have that much food and water left. What if we starve? How far is this cave from the camp?"

"I don't think it can be that far away," said Riku, hopefully. "I've never actually been to this world before."

"Then why did we come here?!" Kairi demanded. "How could you know the Illumina Heart could possible be in a world you've never been to?"

"You couldn't sense it?" Riku questioned her. "You couldn't feel the Heart calling you, too? Come on, Kairi, you know you did."

"You're right. I just want to go home, back to Sora. I miss him, Riku! I mean, you wouldn't even let me say goodbye! It's killing me, Riku, and I'm positive it's killing him, too! Don't be so heartless!"

"Don't you _dare_ call me heartless, Kairi!" Riku roared. "Sora's my best friend! You think it was easy for me to run off with you behind his back to find this thing? You couldn't be any more wrong! It's just as painful for me as it is for you! Don't you _ever _forget that!" He instantly regretted yelling at Kairi. He saw the tears welling up in her eyes again and felt his eyes watering as well. He still had feelings for Kairi himself, but she loved Sora so he had stepped aside. He wanted so badly to kiss her, to comfort her, but he knew it wouldn't be right. So he settled for hugging her and holding her tight as he whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Kairi."

"I just feel like a bad person for leaving," Kairi sobbed. "I love him."

Riku still felt a pang of hurt whenever she said that, but he was getting better at suppressing his feelings. For the sake of the three's friendship, he had to keep his love for Kairi a tightly locked secret—forever. But this moment was too perfect to pass up. Riku stared longingly into Kairi's eyes, his passion for her slowly taking over his mind, his body. He leaned closer to her lips and held his breath…


	3. Chapter 3: Afflictions

**Chapter 3: Afflictions**

_*****Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. Please read at your own risk.*****_

Kairi never saw it coming. She had no idea what was happening until Riku's mouth connected with her own. She opened her eyes but her tears washed out her vision. For a moment she revelled in his embrace, yearning for a long overdue kiss. But she turned away almost as soon as she realised what was happening. She began to cry even more.

"I can't do this!" she sobbed. Her heart instantly ached for Sora, pounded with guilt and shame. She had been kissed by their best friend even though she loved Sora. And though she had only held on of her own volition for just a second, she knew even that was much too long.

"Kairi…" Riku suddenly realised what he had just done to her, to himself: he made Kairi feel shameful and deceitful; he had made himself taste a passion that he was not meant to act upon. Yet he craved more, more of her pain and sorrow, more of the kiss that had set his heart ablaze with an ardour comparable to a thousand sunsets, all engulfing him in a forbidden pleasure at the expense of Kairi's self-respect and his loyalty to Sora.

For some reason, Riku felt no shame himself. He leaned toward Kairi once again and whispered to her: "Stay with me. Kairi, please don't leave me, ever."

"What have I done?" Kairi gasped, mortified at her brief lapse of infidelity. "What have YOU done?! How could you?"

"You held on to it," Riku defended himself. "You wanted it, too. Don't act like you're a victim in this. I'm not the bad guy."

"Yes, you are!" Kairi screamed. "You took advantage of my missing Sora. You took advantage of my _pain_!"

"Pain?" Riku retorted. "_Pain_? What about the pain _I'm_ feeling? I've always been in love with you, but you and Sora always seemed destined to be together! All these years I've had to keep my feelings hidden for the sake of our friendship but do you care? Obviously not!"

"Riku, I—"

"—Save your breath, Kairi." He'd known all along that he would be rejected should he ever have the guts to confess his affection. At last his fears had come true. He was exposed and vulnerable now which made him very uncomfortable and insecure. He'd always tried to be the strong one, even back when the three of them were living carefree lives on the Islands, not knowing that there were other worlds but always wishing to find them. He fell to his knees, the cruel nostalgia forcing an unbearable weight onto him, choking out his lungs.

Kairi stood up and walked away from the boulders still trapping them inside the cave. "I need to be alone for a while," she told Riku. "It looks like you do, too."

Riku didn't respond or even look up at her as she left him to wallow in his memories.

Kairi went back to the alcove where Marluxia had stolen the Illumina Heart. She heard heavy breathing and whipped around, frightened. She stared into the near-darkness of the cave, holding her breath as she listened for the sound again. It started to come closer, closer…

Suddenly she was snatched up off the ground and saw nothing but darkness as she screamed…

"Kairi!" Riku had heard her cries for help and dashed down the tunnel to the alcove. He smelled a scent that was not there before: the scent of a monster. Then he heard the fierce crumbling of stone from the other end of the cave and ran back to the entrance. There he saw a giant gorilla and a tall man with long brown hair wearing nothing but a loincloth.

* * *

When Tifa and Aerith arrived at the Great Maw, Leon was still having fits of what looked like very excruciating torture. Cloud was at a loss for words and looked at them with desperation.

"What happened?" Aerith asked him.

Cloud hesitated, trying to recall the answer to Aerith's question. It had all happened so fast that if it weren't for Leon writhing on the ground now, he would have thought it had been a glimpse of a nightmare. "We were just walking around, patrolling. We heard a sound, like the swish of a cloak or something. Next thing I know something flew into Leon—I think it might have been a rock—and he started going into these spasms!"

"Oh my…" Aerith trailed off.

"What can we do, Aerith?" Tifa asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," Aerith admitted, "but I think I should try a Curaga spell."

"Will it work?" Cloud demanded.

"I'll try it. Curaga!" Bells and flowers danced around Leon's convulsing body, but did nothing at all. Cloud and Tifa both directed their fearful gazes toward Aerith, who was now racking her brain for more ideas.

Suddenly, it clicked in her mind. She closed her eyes and folded her hands in prayer, mustering every vestige of strength she could. When she opened her eyes, he hands went up into air, calling down a torrent of rain. What looked like three angels came down from the sky with the rain, offering healing energy to the tortured man lying directly below them.

Leon lay still as the rain stopped and the angels ascended back into the heavens. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at his friends. "W-what happened to me? The pain…it's gone!"

Cloud and Tifa looked at Leon in relief, then at Aerith in astonished reverence. "What did you do, Aerith?" they asked in unison.

"It's called 'Great Gospel,'" Aerith explained. "It can heal even the most critical of injuries, but I can't always use it and it takes a tremendous amount of energy out of me. I need to lie down and rest for a while."

"Thank you," said Leon. "I thought I was going to die."

"What's that?" Tifa cried all of a sudden. She was pointing at a small brown leech, squirming blindly across the ground.

"That's what hit Leon!" exclaimed Cloud. "It looked like a rock, but it's actually a leech!"

"But where did it come from?" Aerith asked. "There aren't any leeches around here like this one."

"Let's take it to Merlin," Tifa suggested, scooping the little leech into a bottle she had brought with her—just in case. "He might be able to figure out what kind of leech it is."

They helped Leon to his feet and started toward the town when a giant Heartless which greatly resembled a chameleon—a Stealth Sneak—appeared out of nowhere.

"What is that thing?" shouted Tifa.

"It's a Heartless!" Aerith answered. "Leon, are you alright to fight?"

"Yeah," Leon grunted. "I'm a little tender but the pain is completely gone now." He readied his Gunblade and took off at a lightning pace. Cloud followed, taking out the giant bandaged Buster Sword he commanded as he leapt into the air.

The Buster Sword landed right into the Stealth Sneak's head and it let out a piercing cry of agony; Leon expertly aimed his Gunblade at its eyes, blinding it; Tifa, overwhelmed by the stature of the Heatless, tripped it with a roundhouse kick to each leg; Aerith stayed back in case any of her comrades needed the aid of her recovery magic.

Cloud removed his sword and leapt down to the ground. Together, he and Leon cut off the Stealth Sneak's legs. As it tumbled down, Leon and Cloud both jumped up; Leon sliced open the stomach while Cloud cleanly cut off the head. The Heartless twitched for a moment before disappearing for good. Everyone sighed in relief and regrouped, once again heading toward Merlin's house.

* * *

Sora looked at Larxene as she put another piece of driftwood into the campfire. He was glad that he had somebody to physically talk to again. Larxene sat down and looked at him as well, not knowing exactly where to begin. These were harsh memories that she knew Roxas didn't feel comfortable reliving and that was why Sora didn't know the whole story.

_Don't tell him about Xion_, Roxas told her.

_Why not? It's a crucial part of your story, isn't it?_

_Just don't go into too much detail about her. Just tell him about Castle Oblivion and get it over with._

_But Roxas, shouldn't he know about Xion and how she wasn't re—_

_—No! Just don't, please._

Larxene scowled. "Well, I guess it all started when you turned into a Heartless, Sora."

"Right, at Hollow Bastion when I used that Dark Keyblade to release my heart," Sora recalled. "I did it so Kairi could have hers back. When she lost her heart, it found a safe place in mine. But I wasn't a Heartless for very long. Kairi recognised me and she turned me back into myself. This is when Roxas was born, right?"

"Yeah, and not too long after that, Xemnas found him and made him a member of Organization XIII," said Larxene. "We were intrigued by how you were able to turn back into a human and how Roxas was able to wield the Keyblade as well. I think you changed back because yours and Kairi's hearts were so connected that she still had yours when you released it and gave it back to you. And because you're the Keyblade Master, that power was given to Roxas as well.

"The goal of the Organization was to collect enough hearts to ultimately use Kingdom Hearts to become whole again. Since you're the Keyblade Master, we decided to use you to collect hearts for us. You remember that, right?"

Sora nodded in undivided focus on Larxene's story.

"You see, all we have to go by are our memories. We don't have hearts—well we're not supposed to anyway—so we rely on our memories to fake emotions and develop our 'personalities,' so to speak. When Xemnas found Castle Oblivion, he planned to make it another headquarters for the Organization so that we could research memories. That's also where Naminé was discovered.

"We held her hostage in the Castle because she had the power to change and manipulate memories and that quality was very useful for us. Xemnas created pods that could put together memories and Naminé became the cornerstone of our research. Marluxia and I were assigned to conduct more experiments there and that's when we decided to use Naminé to overthrow the Organization."

"How did you plan to use her?" asked Sora.

"You showed up," Larxene replied simply. "When you stepped over the threshold into Castle Oblivion, Naminé was already at work rearranging your memories. We forced her to eventually replace your memories of Kairi with false memories of Naminé. We did the same thing with Vexen's Riku Replica and pit the two of you against each other to compete for Naminé's love. With that, we had total leverage to take control of you. It was a pretty brilliant plan if I do say so myself."

_But I think Xemnas must have suspected what you were up to_, chimed in Roxas.

"Yeah, Xemnas must have thought we were up to no good or else he wouldn't have sent Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, and Axel to keep an eye on us. But Vexen's Replica Project turned out to be quite useful…before turning into a total failure because the Riku Replica found out it was a fake with no heart and couldn't stop you or Riku.

"Marluxia and I then learned that Vexen was spying on us for Lexaeus and Zexion, the scoundrel! Marluxia threatened to report Vexen's failed experiment to Xemnas unless he killed you, and we thought we had Vexen under control until he tried to reveal our plans and Roxas' existence to you. At that point, Marluxia told Axel to eliminate him, which he did. That sealed our trust in him and we let him into our plot of rebellion against Xemnas. But you defeated me at some point and that's all I remember."

Sora sat there, taking it all in. He found it amazing that all of this had gone on and he couldn't remember any of it. "Wow," was all he could say.

"I know it's a lot of info to absorb," said Larxene, "but hey, you're a smart kid, right? I'm sure you can sort it out for yourself."

_Thanks for not talking about her_, Roxas said to Larxene in gratitude.

_You're just lucky it never came up_, she replied with a smirk that Sora didn't see.

"So what happened while I was in the pod?" Sora asked. "You never told me that part yet."

"Right," Larxene remembered. "Well, I can't tell you what happened to you 'cuz I don't know. You look like you made out alright though. As for me, I somehow ended up in Ansem's study in Hollow Bastion—I mean, Radiant Garden—after a while. I found Zexion mulling over some papers and he had this leech thing in a little container. He saw me appear and told me he though I was dead. I asked him why he was there and he got all defensive. Said he wasn't doing anything at all, just reading up on something. I told him he didn't have to be so rude and I accidentally knocked over the container with the leech in it. He got so angry that I almost let the leech out that he lunged toward me! I took out my knives and dodged him but he has the power of Illusion, so he copied my knives and cut my cheek!

"I ended up chasing him out of the study. He grabbed the leech before he left but he forgot his papers. I figured 'finders keepers, losers weepers,' so I read them. They talked about an 'Illumina Heart' and how it's supposed to be connected to Kingdom Hearts but they didn't give enough detail as to what that connection is. But then I found a paper that had fallen to the ground in the fight and it said that the Illumina Heart could 'bridge the gaps and unite the hearts of humanity in order to reveal the 'Divine Truth.' I knew he wanted the Heart and would surely use it for something rotten so I snatched the papers and left.

"But then I read the back of that last paper and it said that the true power of the Illumina Heart can only be unlocked by the Keyblade Master. That's you! So I know that Zexion and whoever else is still around is going to be coming to look for you very soon."

"But wait," Sora cut in, "all the Organization members have been defeated. So unless the rest of them or most of them came back the way you and Zexion did, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"I want to believe that, kid, but if two of us are back, I'm sure everyone else was able to come back as well. Sucks to be you!"

"Gee, thanks for the support," Sora murmured. "So what do we do?"

"Well, we should probably try and find this Illumina Heart thing before Zexi—" but Larxene was interrupted by laughter coming from her mind. _Who is that? He sounds so familiar… Roxas, do you hear that?_

_Yeah, it sounds like… But it couldn't be him, could it?_

The two Nobodies received confirmation in the form of extravagant fireworks that lit up the serene night sky.


	4. Chapter 4: What They Seek

**Chapter 4: What They Seek**

_*****Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. Please read at your own risk.*****_

The Illumina Heart glistened in the bright lights of the ivory chamber. Marluxia looked pleased. "Such a beautiful thing, the heart is," he mused. It almost made him joyful. Almost. He gazed at the crystal heart with such longing that it only strengthened his resolve to become whole once again…and to enslave mankind.

The door opened; Marluxia awoke from his reverie as he heard footsteps cross the room. "Back so soon, are we?" he asked the cloaked men in his delicate, lyrical voice. He turned back to the Illumina Heart, his smile widening like never before; a perfect performance.

"I have some bad news to report, Marluxia," admitted Lexaeus. He possessed a powerful and solid frame but in the presence of the Lord of Castle Oblivion he couldn't help but tremble at Marluxia's strength and authority. Lexaeus hesitated as he tried to calculate Marluxia's now-blank expression.

"Well," the Graceful Assassin prompted, "what is it, Lexaeus? Out with it." Even now his voice was calm. It took quite a bit to anger Marluxia for he had much poise.

"Well…" Lexaeus struggled.

"Oh, come on!" Vexen cried. "It's not that hard to tell him that Riku managed to escape from that cavern!"

Marluxia was silent; Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion looked uneasy. "My Lord," said Zexion changing the subject, "the Heart looks exquisite. But how could something so magnificent be so powerful, so potentially dangerous?"

"Beauty is the most dangerous thing there is," replied Marluxia lecherously. "It draws you in, seduces and consumes you. And then it destroys the very fibre of your being—or lack thereof in our case—in an instant. The Illumina Heart has much potential and it is just the thing I need. Do you have those papers?"

Zexion gasped, realising that he must have left them in Ansem's study after his altercation with Larxene. "I, I do not," he stammered.

"I see. Do you know where they are?"

"I left them in Ansem's study. Unless—unless Larxene took them."

Marluxia's mouth twitched for a split second into a scowl (another polished touch). He regained his composure. "Larxene has returned?" he wondered out loud. "Well this certainly does make things a little more interesting, doesn't it? Did you tell her anything, Zexion?"

"Nothing at all, my Lord. But we did fight."

"How come? It's not like you to take the offensive very often."

"She almost let my Malevoleech loose! I wasn't finished it yet and all the time I spent creating it would have been for naught!"

"I see." Marluxia scrutinised Zexion, who flinched slightly. "So you eventually left the study. Was the leech harmed?"

"Fortunately, no. I was able to take it with me but obviously I must have forgotten the papers. There is no doubt in my mind that Larxene has them. She'll know about the Illumina Heart by now, won't she?"

"Indeed she will," Marluxia said. "This could be a problem unless she still remains loyal to me. We must find her."

"But what about Riku?" Lexaeus asked, his trembling now beginning to subside. "He's going to be looking for the Heart now! We have to stop him!"

"Calm down, Lexaeus," Vexen said. "Riku is in the middle of a jungle. There's nothing there and no way to leave."

"He got there fine enough," Lexaeus retorted, his anxiety creasing his forehead.

"Yes, but he won't be leaving anytime soon, regardless. If you'll recall, Kairi's gone missing. He isn't going to up and leave without her, is he?"

"Vexen makes a good point," Marluxia agreed. "But Kairi's missing? Hmm…"

The others exchanged nervous glances, and then stared at their master, who had closed his eyes in thought.

"I wonder where she could be," said Marluxia. "She wouldn't just disappear. She must have been kidnapped…but by whom?"

"Perhaps it was a Heartless or a Nobody," Vexen ventured a guess. "I mean, she is a Princess of Heart, isn't she? And she's not that strong a fighter if she's even a fighter at all. It wouldn't be very difficult to snatch her away if she ended up getting separated from Riku."

"Maybe she fell in a hole or something," said Lexaeus. "I could have made a few when I sealed off the cave with the earthquake. You never know."

"Those are definitely valid possibilities," Marluxia assessed, "but I'm not sure if either of you are correct."

Zexion chimed in: "It could have been another member of the Organization, you know. Perhaps Axel's the culprit?"

"Axel? That traitor?!" Vexen was livid. "Of course he would! Just to mess up our plans! Ugh, Marluxia, let me take care of him! I want vengeance for him destroying me anyway! Nobody immolates Vexen, the Chilly Academic! NOBODY!"

"Was that an intentional pun?" Marluxia asked patronisingly. "Besides, I need you for something else. I need yours and Zexion's help with a project I'm working on. It will eventually involve Kairi, and Naminé as well for that matter, but for now let's leave Axel to his own devices. The person I need right now is Sora. Lexaeus, I don't believe the two of you have ever met at all. I would like you to go to Destiny Islands and, ahem, "recruit" him, if you don't mind."

Lexaeus nodded assent and left without a word; Marluxia looked at Vexen and Zexion and beckoned them forward to discuss their new project.

* * *

"We've searched everywhere!" Rikku whined. "I'm so tired!"

"Rikku's right," Yuna agreed. "That Illumina Heart isn't here. It's a wild chocobo chase!"

Paine scoffed. "Well then, what should we do? Go to another world? Do you even know how many there are? It could take forever to find this thing! Is it even worth it?"

"It's called the 'Illumina Heart,'" Rikku said. "It's got to be worth a lot. Come on, let's just go to another world. You never know where it could be!"

"Let's at least check the castle one more time," said Paine. "We could have missed a spot."

Yuna and Rikku sighed and followed Paine back to Hollow Bastion. When they went into the Entrance Hall they found a strange portal. "Where could it lead?" Rikku thought aloud.

"Maybe it will take us to another world," said Yuna.

"I guess since it's here we might as well go," Paine grunted.

And with that, the Gullwings left Radiant Garden and entered a strange new world: a jungle by the looks of it.

They looked around, taking in their new surroundings. "Where are we?" asked Rikku.

"A jungle by the looks of it," Yuna answered.

"Well, let's go find us a Heart!" Rikku lead the way, excited by the change of atmosphere; Paine and Yuna followed, scanning the jungle for any sign of the Illumina Heart.

All of a sudden, they saw a shadow on the ground—a shadow with no owner. "That's so creepy!" remarked Yuna. Just then, the shadow multiplied and a plethora of Heartless emerged from the earth. Yuna and Rikku screamed in fright; Paine glared at the Shadows.

"Fly away!" Yuna and Rikku cried. As the Heartless chased the three girls, more appeared in the trees: male monkeys known as Powerwilds and females called Bouncywilds. The Gullwings dodged banana peels and stones as they flew at top speed through the thickets until they reached an encampment, where they found a young man who was taking a look around. He heard the Heartless approaching and turned around, his hand holding a winged sword with a peculiar keychain dangling from it.

* * *

As the sun beat down upon his pale face, the man trudged through the sand, trying futilely to not get any in his boots. He walked over to a palm tree, its shade allowing him to get his bearings. He shielded his eyes as he walked out from under the tree and stood at the edge of the ocean.

He heard footsteps to his left, muffled by the sand, of course. He turned around to see three youngsters slowly approaching him; two boys, one of whom was carrying a blue and white ball; the other the only girl in the group. "Hey, you're not from around here, ya?" the boy holding the ball asked him.

The man nodded and said to them: "Where is Sora?"

The kids looked at him; then at each other; then back again at the man. "He left," the girl said. "He disappeared into a dark portal, or something, with these two people in black cloaks."

"Black cloaks, you say?" The man was curious and a little concerned. "Did you happen to see what these two looked like?"

"Well," said the other boy, "there was this one lady with blonde hair. Her face was kinda shaped like a heart but she looked a little…crazy. And there was a guy with long, spiky hair. It was red, like a huge bonfire. He had a little sort of line on each cheek, too."

The man knew exactly who these people were by the boy's descriptions. "So, Axel and Larxene came to collect him, huh? Looks like I'm too late."

"What's he talking about, Selphie?" the boy with the ball asked.

"I dunno, Wakka," Selphie replied. "How about you, Tidus?"

"Not a clue. Hey, mister," he said to the man, "do you know those guys?"

"I know of them and they're nothing but trouble. Did Sora say anything to you when he left?"

"No," Selphie answered. "Tidus and Wakka were playing Blitzball right here on the beach and I was the referee. We saw Sora and—Axel and Larxene, right?—go through that portal thing. I heard Sora say: 'I wonder if I should let Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie know where I'm going, or at least that I'll be back soon.' But then that Axel guy said that there wasn't time, so they just left. What's going on? And who are you by the way? How do you know Sora?"

The man said nothing. What could have been minutes passed by before he said: "Sora's in big trouble." Then he walked away, the three kids gaping at him in horror.

He took out his phone when he was out of earshot and dialed a number.

A woman's voice answered. "Hello?"

"Tifa, I need you to meet with me. Sora's been taken by Organization XIII."

He heard Tifa gasp. "Is he alright?" she cried. "Where do you want me to meet you?"

"I'll come to Radiant Garden. Where will you be this evening?"

"Merlin's house, I guess. Leon's still recovering from that leech attack. The pain is coming back now, almost like the little bugger left him with a toxin or some kind of parasite. We're all really scared."

"Well, I'll see if there's anything I can do," the man replied. "Just stay at Merlin's house and I'll be right there." And with that, he disappeared into the same kind of portal that Sora, Axel, and Larxene had: a Corridor of Darkness.

Just as he left, another Corridor appeared, and from it stepped a hulking figure with short brown hair and a look of subdued determination. The ground quivered with each step he took towards Tidus and his friends.

* * *

"I can't believe our home is gone," sobbed the Queen. Goofy patted her shoulder, trying to fight back his own tears.

"Everything's gonna be all right, Minnie," Mickey said. "Things look pretty bad right now, but I just know it'll all work out in the end."

"He's right," Daisy chimed in. "At least we all made it out safely…except for the brooms…" Minnie sighed at looked out the window of the Gummi Ship.

Donald Duck, Jiminy Cricket, Chip, and Dale said nothing; Mickey and Minnie's dog, Pluto, had his paws over his head. Everybody was scared senseless after the attack on Disney Castle, and now they were homeless, destitute. At least they could find refuge in Traverse Town for the time being. And Daisy had a point: they all did make it out safely…except for the brooms…

The Gummi Ship arrived at Traverse Town's World Gate in no time at all. Mickey and the other former residents of Disney Castle went to the Second District to check into the hotel. "I'm going to go look for somebody we know," the King said after they were all settled. "If the Organization is back and attacking worlds, there might be others who ended up here…or _will_ end up here."

Dusk soon rolled around but King Mickey had not yet come back. "I'm worried about Mickey," Minnie said to Donald and Goofy. "Perhaps you two could go find him? It's getting late."

"Why sure," Donald said. "But I think the King can take care of himself. He has a Keyblade, after all."

"Well, all the same, I just want to make sure he's safe."

Donald and Goofy checked all over the Second District and the alleyways, but the King was nowhere to be found. They checked Cid's old accessory shop in the First District but still, no Mickey.

When they got to the Third District, they found a giant Heartless (a Guard Armor) stomping around a young girl with blonde hair and a white dress. "Naminé!" Donald shouted. "Look out, Naminé!"

Naminé gasped and turned to face them. "Donald! Goofy! Help me!" she cried from across the District. She ran under the Guard Armor, almost getting crushed in the process. The Heartless fired a giant beam from its neck, which was detached from its head; the head bobbed up and down above the neck, occasionally speeding up or slowing down. Naminé stopped in her tracks and ran back the other way. Donald and Goofy sprinted towards her and the Heartless, weapons and magic at the ready…


	5. Chapter 5: Crossing Thresholds

**Chapter 5: Crossing Thresholds**

_*****Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. Please read at your own risk.*****_

What Donald and Goofy didn't know was that their king was no longer in Traverse Town. In fact, he wasn't even sure where he was himself until he awoke in a prison cell. "W-what's goin' on here?" he wondered aloud.

"I have you at last!" a menacing voice replied. His piercing gaze met with Mickey's look of confusion, his amber eyes seething with a thousand silent taunts. These were the eyes of Xemnas, the Superior and most powerful member of Organization XIII.

Mickey stared at Xemnas for a moment, trying to register that the most powerful Nobody ever to roam the worlds, the Nobody of Xehanort, was back. "Xemnas!" he called. "What happened? I though Sora and Riku destroyed you!"

"That may have been so, but it seems that they were not strong enough to destroy me for good," said the Superior. "I am all-powerful, you foolish king. Oh, but without a castle or kingdom to rule, I suppose you are no longer a king. Forgive me, _Mickey_." He said the name with as much venom as he could for not having the heart to feel it as well.

"No matter what you say to me, I don't care if I'm a king or not! That never mattered to me, Xemnas. That's what makes us so different. You try to gain power, but I just do the best I can with the power I'm given! That's why—"

"—you have a Keyblade? Of course. Well, all the same, if _two_ Keyblades can't stop me, what makes you think three would be any better?"

"I'm not saying it would," Mickey answered. "But I know that the power of light will always win, even without the Keyblade. As long as Kingdom Hearts shines through the darkness and people have light in their hearts, light will never lose and never fade."

"That was a very touching monologue, but as long as there is darkness in people's hearts, it can never be vanquished," Xemnas countered. "So there's really no point in trying to stop it."

"I'm not trying to stop it though. I know that all anyone can do is hold it back. Besides, as long as there are even a handful of people with no darkness in their hearts whatsoever, I have hope that maybe one day we won't ever have to fight the darkness again."

"You mean the Princesses of Heart, don't you? Of course…"

Mickey gasped: he knew what idea he had just given Xemnas. Immediately he felt guilty.

Xemnas caught his worried expression and smiled. "Excellent. I suppose I'm somewhat indebted to you, your _majesty_"—more venom in his voice; this time he added a smirk—"since you've given me such a magnificent idea. It's almost too perfect. Perhaps you'll get the opportunity to see it come to fruition…if you don't rot in this cell that is."

Mickey watched in horror as Xemnas left the room. He knew there just had to be a way to escape from The World That Never Was and he was determined to find it and put a stop to Xemnas' plan.

Just as the door closed, it opened again to reveal Saïx, Xemnas' second-in-command from less than a year ago. He was carrying somebody in his arms and Mickey could tell exactly who it was from how she was dressed. Saïx placed her in the cell next to Mickey's and the face confirmed who this new prisoner was. The black dress, the horns on her head… "Maleficent," Mickey half-whispered.

* * *

"So how did you find us?" Sora asked Axel. The fireworks had ended and the three were sitting around the campfire Sora and Larxene had built (which was now much bigger thanks to Axel).

"Well," Axel began, "this is gonna sound a bit strange but, I felt you were here. I could feel your heart, Sora. It was calling me back." _You were calling me back, Roxas._

_Sora told me what you did for him. You really played the part well. The hero with a heart of gold. Pretty good, Axel._

_Hey, you know what? I actually don't think it was an act. I've said this to Sora but the same applies to you: you make me feel like I have a heart. There, now the mushy stuff's outta the way._"Aw, how sweet, Axel." Larxene was beaming at him. "Best friends till the end, huh? Must be nice."

"And just what do you mean by that, Larxene?"

"It's nice to see that you two had such a bond—well, you still _have_ a strong bond, don't you?"

"We sure do." Axel and Larxene gasped. Sora's lips had moved but it was Roxas' voice that had come out.

"Ro…xas?" Larxene said. "What's going on?"

"I think he wants to get out," answered Sora. _Is that even possible, Roxas?_

_I'm not sure_, Roxas replied. _But I do want to see Axel and Larxene with my own eyes._

_I'll see what I can do._

_Hey_, Axel thought, _I can hear your thoughts now, Sora!_

_Me, too!_ Larxene said. _This is kinda creeping me out, to be honest._

Sora, Larxene, and Axel looked at each other and laughed; Roxas did as well.

The next morning Sora was woken up by Axel's laughter. "Hey, some of us are trying to sleep, you know!"

"Oh, soooooory!" Axel teased. "I'll try to be more quiet from now on. Jeez!" And he walked down to the other end of the beach, his red hair dancing as the laughter continued.

Later that afternoon Larxene came back to the burned-out campfire with a satisfied look on her face. "I think I've seen all there is to see here," she proclaimed. "Time to go."

"Go?" asked Sora. "Whaddya mean, 'Go'? Where? Why?"

"Calm down, Sora," Axel said. "We're only going for a little while. Larxene and I talked about it last night after you feel asleep. You're not safe here right now. You know about the Illumina Heart, right? The rest of the Organization—assuming they're all back of course—will be looking for you and they know you live here. It's probably a good think that Rik—" He cut himself off went he saw Sora wince.

"I wonder if I should let Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie know where I'm going, or at least that I'll be back soon," he said, lowering his face in sudden sadness as he thought of his friends.

"Sora, I'm sorry but there isn't time. We have to leave now."

"But where are we going to go?" Sora asked as Axel summoned a Corridor of Darkness.

"I thought maybe we should speak to the King first. He might know something about what's going on."

"You mean King Mickey?"

"That's the one." And with that, they all entered the Corridor and headed for Disney Castle.

* * *

The Heartless soon surrounded Riku and the three strange little girls. _What are they?_ he asked himself. _Fairies? Pixies?_ A Powerwild leapt at the one dressed in black and he took it out in one swipe of his Keyblade, Way to the Dawn.

The other monkeys and Shadows started to close in on the four of them. Riku sprung into action, felling Heartless after Heartless. The gorilla and wild man who had rescued Riku from the cave heard the commotion and burst out of the nearby tent. In a matter of mere minutes every last Heartless in the camp was gone.

"Thanks!" the other two girls cheered. The one Riku had saved just nodded her head.

"No problem," Riku replied. "Just be more careful around the Heartless. They'll attack anyone unlike themselves."

"Yeah, yeah, we know," said the blonde one. "Just tell us where the Illumina Heart is and you won't have to worry about us getting chased again."

"Rikku!" the brown-haired girl shouted.

"Yes?" Riku and Rikku both said. "Huh?"

"Wait," said Riku, the boy. "_My_ name is Riku."

"Well so is mine," said Rikku, the girl. "How do you spell yours?"

"With one _K_."

"Mine has two."

"Hmph, how about that…" Riku with one _K_ muttered. "But wait! How do you know about the Illumina Heart?"

"Well maybe we should introduce ourselves first," the brunette said. "I'm Yuna and that's Paine in the black."

"Charmed," Paine said curtly.

"Okay, but what about the Illumina Heart?" Riku pressed. "How do you girls know about it?"

"Tifa's trying to find it and she promised us twenty percent of it if we do!" the other Rikku blurted out. Yuna shushed her.

"Tifa? You mean one of Sora's friends from Hollow Bastion?"

"It's 'Radiant Garden' now, actually," Yuna corrected.

"Right, I forgot. But why does Tifa want it?"

"Some guy's been calling her asking for her to help him find it." explained Yuna. "Nobody knows who he is. Hey, wait a minute, how do _you_ know about it?"

"I had a dream about it. In the dream I was in a cave and I saw it shining through the darkness. I heard someone whisper, 'Illumina Heart' and then I woke up. Somehow I knew where the cave was and how to get to it even though I've never been to this world before. Tarzan says it's called 'Deep Jungle.'" He turned to Tarzan to introduce him.

"Nice to meet you," the jungle man said. He pointed to the gorilla. "This is Kerchak. He's like a father to me. He's raised me ever since I was a baby."

"The Illumina Heart was in the cave, just like in the dream. And I had my friend Kairi with…me, too… But when we found the Heart, someone stole it and sealed the cave in an earthquake. Kairi got kidnapped but Tarzan and Kerchak were able to free me from the cave. So now I have to find Kairi and get Illumina Heart back."

The Gullwings looked at Riku, then at Tarzan and Kerchak. Paine spoke this time: "How about we help you out? We'll look for the Illumina Heart and you can find your girlfriend. But of course, we'll need compensation. It's a jungle out here, you know."

Riku cringed at the word "girlfriend." Right now he wasn't even sure if Kairi still wanted to be just friends. But this was an offer he couldn't refuse. He had to find her. "It's a deal," he agreed. "But I don't have anything to give you."

"That's alright," said Yuna. "We're already getting a cut of the Heart so just consider this a favour. How about you owe us one in return someday? Does that sound good?"

"I'll take it."

"_Or_…" Rikku sang, "you could give us any ancient jungle treasure you find. Oh, and if we find any along the way, we get to keep that, too!"

"That's fine," Tarzan said. He spoke quite well for a man raised by gorillas.

Riku and Tarzan headed for Tarzan's tree house to see if maybe Kairi could be there; Kerchak stayed at the camp to protect the other gorillas in the area and Tarzan's friend, Jane; the Gullwings went to cave where the Illumina Heart was stolen to look for clues.

* * *

"Naminé, look out!" Goofy cried. The Guard Armor was just about to step on her although whether it would have been by accident or on purpose no one wanted to find out. Donald threw some magic spells at the various appendages of the Heartless while Goofy brought Naminé away from the fight.

"Goofy! Aim for the head and distract it!" Donald commanded. He was trying to make it dizzy by running around it in circles but it only ended making himself dizzy. The Guard Armor fired another beam from its neck and Donald came to in the nick of time. "That was a close one!" he panted.

"Be careful!" Naminé called. "Don't let that beam hit you!"

Goofy hit the Heartless' head dead-on with his shield, the best hit he'd ever made. Donald had just finished off the left arm with a Blizzaga spell and the right one was showing signs of slowing down.

The Guard Armor crouched down to take a swipe at Donald but missed. Goofy took this opportunity to jump onto its good arm and whack it non-stop with his shield. Just as Donald blasted off one of its feet, the other arm came clean off, clanged to the ground, and disappeared.

"Hey," Goofy called to Donald, "aim for the head and I'll attack that last foot over there."

Goofy grabbed onto the foot and held on tight, even when the Guard Armor started hopping around the plaza. Goofy managed to take it off as Donald was fire spells of all sorts at the head.

"Now, Donald!" Naminé cried. "One last spell should do it!"

Donald braced himself. "THUNDAGA!" he bellowed with every ounce of force he could muster. The entire district went black for a second; then out of the sky came seven giant lightning bolts that converged right into the centre of the Heartless' head. The explosion gave off a massive shockwave, knocking everybody down.

"You did it, you two!" said Naminé, who was relieved. "Thank you so much for saving me."

"Well, we couldn't just leave ya here with that big ol' Heartless now, could we?" Goofy said.

"Hey!" called a small voice from across the plaza. It was Jiminy Cricket, the royal chronicler, whose greatest joy in life—aside from once serving as the conscience of a little wooden puppet—was tracking the adventures of gallant heroes in journals for all to see.

"What is it, Jiminy?" Donald asked.

"Queen Minnie wanted me to see if you two were okay. Oh, Naminé! Is that you?"

"Yes, it is. How are you, Jiminy?"

"I'm good, thank you. How about yourself?"

"I'm alright now. Donald and Goofy just saved me from a giant Heartless."

"You don't say! Well, we'd better get back to the hotel then. Have you found the King yet?"

"About that…" Naminé trailed off. "I think I'd better talk to all of you." She followed Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy back to the hotel and met everyone else.

"…now, about King Mickey…" she struggled after a few moments. "He's not here. He's been captured by the Organization. They're…back."

Everyone gasped. Queen Minnie almost fainted.

"Organization XIII?" Donald exclaimed.

"Back?" Goofy finished.

"Yes. I still don't know how, but I think it might have something to do with the Illumina Heart. But I can't explain too much right now. Donald, Goofy, I need you to come with me to Twilight Town. Luxord is causing a lot of trouble there and I think he might have found something. Why else would he be there? You have a ship, right? I'll explain everything on the way. Jiminy, you might want to come too so you can keep your journals up to date. Goodbye, everyone. I'll do my best to help."

Minnie, Daisy, and the other former residents of Disney Castle waved as Donald, Goofy, Jiminy Cricket, and Naminé headed toward the Gummi Ship.


	6. Chapter 6: Trick or Treat!

**Chapter 6: Trick or Treat!**

_*****Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. Please read at your own risk.*****_

The dark town frightened Pete. It was full of ghosts and creepy monsters. The scariest part was that they didn't even try to haunt him or chase him. Pete walked around the town with such fear that even the slightest pick-up of the wind startled him. "Jeez, this place is givin' me the heebie-jeebies," he said aloud to himself. He started humming a peaceful tune, hoping that it would calm his nerves.

"Maleficent?" he called out, his voice shaking now. "Maaaaleeeficent."

All of a sudden, a tall, skinny skeleton jumped in front of Pete, who screamed bloody murder.

"Hi there!" called the skeleton. "I'm Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King. Welcome to Halloween Town!"

"P-P-P-P-Pumpkin K-K-K-King?" Pete stammered.

"That's right!" said Jack with exuberance. "It's my job to make each and every day here the scariest yet. And with the robotic Heartless I've been working on at my disposal, this year's Halloween will be a screaming good time!"

"Hey, wait a minute…aren't you the guy that Oo—wait, robotic Heartless, ya say? Tell me more!"

"Well, Dr. Finkelstein and I tried to control the Heartless to dance and scare people but they went out of control. We eventually decided to make robotic ones that wouldn't go haywire and attack people. We just want them to be scary, that's all."

"Ya don't say…" Pete was trying to come up with a plan for these robotic Heartless. He had to find out how to control them. Maybe he could give them to Maleficent once he found her. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have seen anyone called Maleficent, would you?"

"Can't say I have," replied the Pumpkin King. "But isn't she the one Oogie Boogie was working for? The witch with the power of darkness?"

"Uh, that's—that's the one. Have you seen her?"

"NO! AND I DON'T EVER WANT TO! YOU WORK FOR HER, DON'T YOU! GET OUT OF THIS TOWN! GET_ OUT!_" He took off his head and chased Pete into the graveyard. Pete hid behind a large tombstone and Jack called out to him: "If I ever see you in this town again I'll send all the foulest of spirits and ghouls after you! They will haunt you for all eternity. I guarantee it as the Pumpkin King!" And with that he left to go talk to the doctor.

Pete cowered behind the tombstone for a moment then called out his mistress' name again. "Maleficent? Oh, Maleficent. _Maleficent_!" A mouse had crawled past him and he jumped. "Oh, man! I gotta get outta here! Maybe Oogie Boogie can help me find her. Oh, but that Sora kid took care of him, didn't he… Rats. _Rats_!" A bunch of rats started toward him; he ran around the graveyard and then back to Guillotine Square where he saw someone quite unexpected.

Standing in front of the fountain with a smug look on his face was Vexen of Organization XIII. Pete recognised the black cloak immediately and hid behind a tree. "What's one of those Organization guys doin' around here? Maybe he knows where Maleficent is." He was about to step out from behind the tree to talk to him when he heard Jack's voice again. It was even angrier this time.

"HEY, YOU IN THE CLOAK! NICE COSTUME BUT I KNOW YOU'RE UP TO NO GOOD! I ORDER YOU TO LEAVE HALLOWEEN TOWN RIGHT THIS SECOND! NOBODY IS GOING TO RUIN THE HALLOWEEN SURPRISE THAT I'VE WORKED SO HARD ON ALL YEAR!"

"I wish people would stop making unintentional puns on what the Organization is made of," said Vexen. "It doesn't do us any good to be reminded of the fact."

"I don't care what you are! Get out of my town!" And he lunged toward Vexen in horrifying fury. Vexen expertly dodged his advance and Pete ran off. He summoned a Corridor of Darkness like Maleficent had taught him and left Halloween Town, determined never to come back.

* * *

Vexen ran around the town square as he watched Pete vanish. _So, it seems the witch survived after all_, he thought_. Good. She may be useful in the future but what matters right now is that wretched doctor!_

He hurled a mass of icicles at Jack but all of them missed their target; Jack struck him with a lightning bolt. Vexen lay there, paralysed but still able to watch Jack's every move. When he regained his mobility he fired off more icicles and created patches of ice all over the ground. Jack slipped and Vexen towered over him, grinning haughtily. "Trick or treat, Pumpkin King," he jeered with malice as he froze Jack where he lay.

Vexen stared at Jack for another moment then he walked around, looking for the doctor's lab. He at last found a black building with the door unlocked. He opened it slowly and walked up the stairs and through another creaky door.

There was the doctor in his wheelchair, pouring over a large leather-bound book. There was a girl made of sewn-up body parts and the ghost of a dog with a glowing nose with him as well. They were also looking at the doctor's book. Vexen walked very slowly and silently toward them. "SURPRISE!" he yelled as he snatched the doctor right out of his chair.

"Ack! Let me go you vile cretin!" Dr. Finkelstein yelled as Vexen carried him off across the lab. The ghost dog flew after them while the girl whipped her shoe at Vexen; it hit him in the head and the doctor went tumbling down to the floor. The girl took him back to his wheelchair and stood in front of him, arms wide open in defence.

Vexen rubbed his head and turned around. "I have some very urgent business with Dr. Finkelstein, you silly girl. His research is of the utmost importance at present. I demand you let him come with me!"

"No! He's staying right here!" The girl threw her other shoe at him but this time he dodged it. The dog flew at him but he ducked and froze both him and the girl. The doctor stared in horror at them. "Sally. Zero." He turned to Vexen. "Alright, I'll come with you. But you're not going to get away with this! Jack will stop you!"

"I'm afraid Jack's already been…incapacitated, doctor. Now, if you will follow me, my master would like to have a few words with you. Bring any research you have regarding hearts with you. I'll give you five minutes to collect what you need."

The doctor nodded assent and gathered all his notes and books. He followed Vexen into the Corridor of Darkness he had just conjured and found himself in a pitch-white room.

"Good evening, doctor," said a majestic voice. Marluxia approached Vexen and Dr. Finkelstein, a look of satisfaction on his face. "I have heard great things about your research of the heart's wonders and mysteries. I would love if you could share your findings with me for I am very interested." He grinned at the doctor and beckoned him towards a door to another room. "I shall be with you shortly, if you would be so kind as to wait for me in there."

The doctor looked truly scared for the first time in his life as he went through the door.

"Good work, Vexen," Marluxia said. "You've finally proven your value and loyalty to me. Looks like I won't be having you eliminated again anytime soon."

Vexen glared at his new master. "You know very well I'm not working for you of my own volition, Mar_lu_xia!" His contempt was leaking out after being held in for so long since Marluxia had saved him from nothingness. But he knew that he must maintain his self-control; his time would come.

"Calm yourself, Vexen. I'm giving you a compliment. Now then, I suppose there's nothing else you can do right now. I will give you your next assignment once I have spoken to this doctor. In the meantime, keep an eye out for Lexaeus. I haven't heard anything from him yet and I'm starting to become concerned. Unless Sora has left the islands they should both be here by now. I'd ask Zexion to go check up on this matter but he's been sent to Wonderland. So can you watch for them, please? Thank you."

Vexen stood still as Marluxia went into the other room. He slowly turned around and walked out into the hallway, muttering under his breath.


	7. Chapter 7: Back and Forth

**Chapter 7: Back and Forth**

_*****Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. Please read at your own risk.*****_

Naminé's news that Luxord was terrorising Twilight Town resonated in his mind. This sort of thing had been happening increasingly lately, just as he had expected. He wondered how Tifa was faring in her search for the Illumina Heart. "Maybe I should call her," he said to himself. His took his phone out his pocket then put it back; there wasn't any time.

When he arrived at Twilight Town, he immediately headed for the Old Mansion. This was where Sora, Donald, and Goofy were moved to from Castle Oblivion while Naminé was restoring their memories. He searched the mansion from the inside out, but it was completely empty. He went back into town and heard faint screams coming from the Sandlot.

Upon his arrival he saw Luxord hurling dice and cards at a group of teenagers who were trying to fight back. Luxord noticed the man and grunted. "So, you've come to help the poor kids, have you?" he said menacingly. "Why don't you join in the fun and games!" And he hurled a pack of razor sharp cards at him, all of which he dodged effortlessly.

Luxord scowled and flung his hands into the air. Everyone around them froze were they stood, as if time itself had been halted. Luxord stared at the man in shock; he had not been frozen like the kids had. "How is this possible?" he implored.

The man simply smiled. "You're powers have no hold over me, Luxord. Yes, I know your name," he said when Luxord's expression became even more confused. "I know all about Organization XIII. Everyone's back, you know. Have you caught up with them all?"

Luxord didn't know what to say. He just stood there, gazing intently at this man who seemed so omniscient. "I haven't seen everybody," he admitted. "I'm not to associate with the traitors."

"Traitors? Oh, right. Axel, Marluxia, Larxene, am I forgetting anybody?"

"Roxas."

"Really? Yes, I remember now. He deserted the Organization, correct? And he rejoined with Sora! That's a capital offence, is it not? So, who are you working for? Who are you working with, Luxord?"

"Xemnas," Luxord replied. "I'm still working for the Superior. Saïx is still his right-hand man as always, and Xigbar, Xaldin, and Demyx are working for him as well."

"What about Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion: the other three originals?" He was enjoying this little interrogation, but he wondered why Luxord was giving this information to a total stranger so willingly. He had to find out more.

Luxord thought for a moment. "I'm not sure where they are. We haven't seen them at all yet."

"I see. Well, what about the traitors? Have you heard from them?"

"Not at all. But I can imagine they're up to no good. They must be found and eliminated once and for all."

The man closed his eyes, planning his next move. After a moment he said: "Whether you destroy them or not, it won't matter."

Luxord's confusion was growing by the second. "What do you mean? Why won't it matter? Why don't you start talking sense and do away with these annoying riddles?!"

"You're a gambling man, right?" the man goaded. "Then how about this: if you can find a clue in the Old Mansion for me, I'll tell you everything I know."

"A clue to what?" Luxord was getting frustrated.

"A clue to the whereabouts of any of the traitors. I'd love to speak with them."

Luxord considered the man's offer. If he found where the traitors were, Xemnas would reward him graciously. And he could never turn down a good wager. "You're on," he agreed.

"Excellent," the man said as Luxord took off towards the Old Mansion. He undid Luxord's spell and greeted the teens. "That man is gone now. You have nothing to be afraid of."

"Who are you?" asked a cocky blond boy wearing a black toque. "We could've handled him ourselves, thank you very much."

"My name is Trace, and I know for a fact that none of you could've handled that man. He has the power to manipulate time. In case you didn't notice, he just froze you all in place when I arrived. Luckily for you, I was able to break his spell. You're very much welcome, Seifer."

"What?! How did you know my name?"

"I know everyone here," Trace answered. He pointed to a silent girl with grey hair and a hulking boy in an orange muscle shirt, both flanking Seifer. "Fuu and Rai," he said. He then pointed at a heavy-set boy with black hair. "Your name is Pence and your friends' names are Hayner"—he pointed to another skinny blond boy wearing camo pants—"and Olette"—he then pointed to the only other girl in the group. He then pointed to a shorter kid, whose face was obscured save for two bright yellow eyes, and wore a wizard's hat. "I believe your name is Vivi, correct."

"Y-y-yes, s-s-sir," Vivi stumbled.

"There's no need to be scared," Trace said. "I'm not one of the bad guys and I'm doing my best to protect what is most important. The light and all your hearts."

"Our hearts?" Seifer said with contempt. "Sounds pretty wimpy to me. What are you, a chicken wuss?"

"If only you knew the things I've experienced. You wouldn't call me 'chicken wuss' then." And with that, Trace walked away. He took his phone out again and dialled Tifa's number. "How's Leon?" he asked when she picked up the phone. "…That's good to hear. Well, I just called to tell you that I've found a member of Organization XIII in Twilight Town. …Yeah, you can get there by Gummi Ship. I'm here now. I'll wait for you at the Sandlot. It's not hard to find. I have a feeling that we'll find Sora soon, too." And he hung up and waited.

* * *

"How much farther is it to your house?" Riku asked Tarzan.

"We're not too far from it now," the jungle man replied.

Kerchak made some sounds that were unintelligible to Riku. "What did he say?" he asked.

"Kerchak said: 'How come whenever humans come to the jungle, there is always danger?'" Tarzan translated. "And to be honest, he has a point. Things are much safer here without humans."

"But you're a human," said Riku. "Wouldn't that make you dangerous, too?"

"Well, technically it _should_, but I was raised by the gorillas. I'm much more like them and I protect the jungle. Jane and Dr. Porter are the only other safe humans here. You don't seem very dangerous to me, but danger came with you. Kerchak is a bit uneasy toward you but please don't be offended."

"I'm not," said Riku. "Trust me; I've gone through worse things than not being trusted by a gorilla."

They made it to Tarzan's tree house just before the sun started to set. They split up to search for any clues that may indicate where Kairi could be—if she was even still in Deep Jungle at all. As Riku opened an old chest, he heard a creaking sound. He closed the chest and reopened it; that wasn't what had creaked. He closed the chest again and stood still. Tarzan and Kerchak followed suit.

The creaking sound returned and Riku realised it was the floor. He concentrated on the floorboard that was creaking and all of a sudden a ghost appeared!

"Clayton!" Tarzan yelled. "What is _he_ doing here?!"

Kerchak let out a mighty more and lunged at Clayton's ghost. The ghost pointed his rifle at the gorilla. Tarzan jumped in between them and tried to snatch the rifle, but instead narrowly missed getting shot.

Riku deflected the bullet back at the ghost but it went right through him and left a tiny hole in the wall. He leaped towards Clayton, Keyblade at the ready. Clayton drifted over to the door and whistled.

The ghost of a leopard bounded through the doorway and pounced on Tarzan. Kerchak tried to get the feral spirit off of him but was shot by Clayton.

"NO!" Tarzan cried. He lost all control of his senses and leapt up off the ground, sending Sabor flying into a wall. Riku went over to help Kerchak while Tarzan attacked the leopard. As his hands and teeth kept going through Sabor, he became angrier and turned his attention to Clayton. Riku grabbed hold of him and shook him. "Listen! Kerchak's hurt. You have to take him back to Dr. Porter before it's too late!" Tarzan looked at Riku, then at Kerchak. "Go!" Riku shouted.

Tarzan helped Kerchak to his feet; Riku sprinted around Clayton and Sabor as a distraction. Once Tarzan and Kerchak had left the tree house, Riku started fighting the ghosts. Not even his Keyblade could harm them, however. He racked his brain for ways to win the fight but couldn't think of anything.

Just then, he started to glow with an intense light. He opened his eyes and stared at the hunter and the leopard. As if the light could read his mind, it blasted outward and the ghosts disappeared in an instant. Riku sighed in relief and shock as he tried to process what he had just done. _Is it because I've mastered the light _and_ the darkness?_ he wondered. He looked around to make sure the house was empty, and then he ran off after Tarzan and Kerchak.

He caught up with them at the camp, which was now engulfed in flames.

* * *

"I'm scared!" Rikku whimpered. "And it smells funny in here! How much longer to we have to be in this dumb old cave anyway?"

"Will you just shut up?!" Pained yelled. She was getting very sick and tried of Rikku's incessant whining.

"Paine, calm down," Yuna said. "And Rikku, stop complaining. We have to help Riku and Tifa find the Illumina Heart. Do you want treasure or not?" The others fell silent at once.

The Gullwings were heading back toward the cave entrance; they hadn't found any clues whatsoever. Whoever had taken this thing had been very good at not leaving a trail behind. The girls were a bit frustrated but they had no idea how important their mission really was.

When they made it out of the cave they saw and smelled heavy smoke coming from the direction of the camp. "Fire?" they all asked at once.

Rikku gasped. "What if the camp's on fire?! All the poor animals! We have to save them!"

"Rikku, wait!" Yuna and Pained called as Rikku took off. When they reached the camp they found Riku, Tarzan, and Kerchak just entering as well.

"Quick, find some water to put out the flames!" Riku called to the girls. "We have to get everyone out of here!"

The treasurer hunters nodded and searched the camp for buckets. They found three of them, but they were much too heavy. They went back to tell Riku about them when they were snatched up by somebody.

Riku heard them scream and saw a blonde-haired girl in a red dress and white tights holding the Gullwings in tiny crystals. He noticed that was also wearing a black metal headband of sorts that didn't look like it was supposed to go with her clothes. He started toward her but she flew up into the air, summoned rain to put out the fire, and then disappeared into a Corridor of Darkness. Riku let out a scream of anger and summoned his own Corridor. He wasn't sure where to go but he decided to go to Destiny Islands to get Sora's help.


	8. Chapter 8: The Thirteenth Assault

**Chapter 8: The Thirteenth Assault**

**_***Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. Please read at your own risk.***_**

As soon as Tifa was done talking to Trace she asked Cid if she could borrow his Gummi Ship. "I promise to keep it in perfect condition, don't worry."

"I know I can trust you," said Cid. "Just be careful, ya hear? You don't even know what's out there."

"I'll be fine," Tifa assured him. "I'm just going to meet Trace, finally, and he thinks that we might find Sora soon, too. If you hear anything, let me know. And let me know how Leon's doing every once in a while, okay?"

"You got it!" said Yuffie.

"We'll do our best to help him," Merlin and Aerith said together.

"Cloud," Tifa began, "could you please look for the Illumina Heart while I'm gone? And please let me know if you find _anything_."

"Sure thing," Cloud agreed. "Take care of yourself."

Tifa nodded and left to go get the Gummi Ship.

When she arrived at Twilight Town, she looked around until she found a map posted on a bulletin board. She went down to the Sandlot where she found Trace waiting for her. She'd never met him in person before, but she knew instantly that she had found him. He looked exactly as she had pictured him: black, shoulder-length hair which was somewhat spiked on the left side; pale skin with absolutely no blemishes imperfections whatsoever; even his eyes were the exact shade of jade she had imagined him having. She was taken aback at how eerily and amazingly accurate her image of him was.

"Tifa, it's good to finally meet you!" Trace said with excitement, breaking her out of her reverie. "How are you? Did you get here alright?"

"I'm fine. It's good to meet you, too," she said. "And yeah, I got here okay. It was a smooth trip."

"That's so good to hear!" Tifa was slightly startled by Trace's sudden change in mood; he had always been so serious over the phone, but now he was so happy and upbeat.

Trace read her expression and knew instantly what she was thinking. "I tricked Luxord into going to the Old Mansion," he said, suddenly reverting to his phone-voice. "All we have to do is corner him—" he was distracted by a sudden realisation. "We have company," he said.

Tifa looked around anxiously. "Company? Who's here?"

"Donald and Goofy," Trace answered. You remember them, correct?"

"Of course I do."

"And of course there's little ol' Jiminy Cricket, their chronicler, but Naminé's also with them. I don't think you've ever met Naminé. Well, she's a very nice girl. I think you two would get along great. Oh, and here they come now."

Tifa and Trace looked across the Sandlot to see the four newcomers run toward them.

"Tifa!" Goofy hollered. "Is that you?"

"It's me!" Tifa called back. "How are you?" she asked Goofy, Donald, and Jiminy as they closed in.

"We're okay," they answered.

"And you're Naminé, right?"

"Yes," Naminé answered, smiling. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Tifa responded.

"Naminé's one of those Nobodies," Goofy explained.

"Oh, okay. Right, Sora wrote to us about it. She's Kairi's Nobody, right?"

"Yes," Naminé answered. "And until recently we were put back together. But Kairi's heart is losing its power and she needs Sora by her side. I'm trying to find him."

"Seems like everyone's trying to find Sora, good and bad," Tifa commented. She was started to realise more than ever that he really was the key. "He's keeping himself well-hidden, that's for sure."

"I just hope nothing too terrible happens to Kairi," Naminé said. Her face showed genuine concern—definitely not something a Nobody could pull off…back then anyhow. Naminé explained the whole process of becoming a Nobody as they made their way to the mansion to corner Luxord.

Trace was the first to go through the gate. Once everyone was in the front yard he locked it tight. Luxord exited the mansion just as Donald and Goofy were about to ask where he was.

Trace stared him down with determination flaring in his eyes; Luxord sprinted toward him, ready to freeze time again. "Naminé, lock his mind, now!" Trace shouted.

Luxord froze, and then he collapsed. The look on his face was one of petrified shock. Trace walked to him and stood over him in a dramatic fashion. With one touch to the forehead, Luxord dissolved into grey dust and vanished forever. "He'll never come back," Trace proclaimed. "The Heart has decided."

Everyone understood this to mean the Illumina Heart, but nobody had the courage to ask exactly how this was so. Trace unlocked the gate and walked away. The others followed; not one word was spoken for quite some time.

* * *

Sora, Axel, and Larxene couldn't see anything; the smoke was much too thick. Something was burning and it didn't seem like a simple campfire. They slowly made their way through the smoke until they saw a white and blue tower mingled with the warm colours of destruction: fire was consuming it. The closer they got to Disney Castle, the clearer the horrific sight became. The entire castle was in flames! Sora fell to his knees in despair.

"No…this can't…be…" he couldn't finish his sentence. Axel and Larxene crouched down beside him, each taking a shoulder.

"We need to look for survivors," Axel said with a sort of calm desperation.

Larxene ran through the courtyard, screaming, "Anybody here? Hello? HEY! Stop hiding! Get your keesters out of here!"

A gloved hand grabbed her by the arm. Larxene looked up. It was Xaldin.

"Let go of me, you creep!" Larxene yelled in disgust. "And cut your hair! You look like a freak."

"That hurts, Larxene," Xaldin said. "I've never appreciated your attitude, did you know that? Honestly, I've always found you to be quite annoying."

"Hmph, guess the feeling's mutual."

Xaldin tightened his grip. "You'll never learn to shut your mouth, will you? Such a shame…"

Larxene glared at him, electricity charging through her. She smirked and Xaldin jumped back; she had shocked him pretty hard. "How'd you like my little love tap?" Larxene taunted. "That make your day?"

"Not quite," replied Xaldin with a sneer. "But perhaps this might." And he turned Larxene around so she could see the gargantuan mass of Heartless and Nobodies approaching the castle, far in the distance.

Sora and Axel, seeing Xaldin with Larxene, drew their weapons and dashed over to them; Sora with his Keyblade, Axel with his two chakram. They heard a gunshot and Xigbar appeared in front of them.

"Miss me?" he said. "Just thought I'd welcome you to the neighbourhood barbeque! Ha ha!"

Sora took a swipe at him; Xigbar evaded it and jumped over him. Axel threw a chakram and hit him in the stomach while he was in the air. Xigbar landed with at sharp _thud_ and lay on the ground, panting.

"Stand back, Sora," Axel said. He walked over so that Xigbar could see his face. Then he smiled. "You know that I'm the only one who should be playing with fire, don't you? After all, it's _my_ element!" And Xigbar was engulfed in a powerful blaze.

Larxene cut Xaldin's shoulder with one of her knives and ran to Axel, Sora, and Xigbar. Xaldin darted after her but Sora blocked his path.

"Not so fast, Xaldin!" Sora screamed. "You're gonna pay for what you did to this castle! Where are Donald and Goofy? Where's King Mickey?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," Xaldin replied plainly.

Sora slashed at him and got him in the stomach; Xaldin was fixated on Xigbar's burning body. He pushed Sora aside without a word and stopped just as Larxene turned around, her knives at his throat.

"I swear, if you hurt _anyone_," she said menacingly, "I'll cut you so fast I won't even draw blood. Assuming Nobodies even _have_ blood," she added in afterthought. "Guess we'll find out, huh?"

Xaldin saw that crazy look in her eyes that he had almost forgotten about. "You're not going to try anything, Larxene, you know I'm right. Just put those knives away and help Xigbar."

"Never!" she shrieked. "I'm not helping you in the least! Well…" She turned to Xigbar and moved slowly toward him; soon he would succumb to immolation, like Vexen had once before. With a brief flicker of sadism, she cut the Nobody's throat and watched as he turned into grey dust. It turned the fire jet black, and then they both disappeared. Xigbar's return was short-lived.

"Larxene," Axel and Sora said together slowly.

Xaldin stepped back. He was starting at the empty, unharmed patch of grass where Xigbar was lying just moments ago. He turned promptly on his heel and ran as fast as he could until he remembered that he could make Corridors of Darkness.

"Run! Run! Or you'll be well done!" Axel cried after him as he disappeared.

Larxene was shaking at what she had just done. She had always teased and tormented people. She used to like fighting and causing people pain, but she had never actually imagined _killing_ someone. She turned around to see a jet of water through the smoke.

She, Axel, and Sora ran closer to the castle to see none other than Demyx trying to douse the flames by himself.

"Demyx, what are you doing here?" Sora called.

Demyx looked around, frightened. "Oh, it's you guys, he said. Are Xaldin and Xigbar still around? They're really freakin' me out!"

"Xigbar's dead," Axel said bluntly. "Xaldin split. Were you in on this, Demyx?"

"I was supposed to help, but I chickened out. I don't like fire, no offence, Axel. So I ran and hid, but I saw Xaldin and Larxene. I just didn't want to put people's lives in danger. You know I've never really been the aggressive type."

"That's okay," Sora said. "You want some help?"

"Nah, I can handle it." Demyx closed his eyes and started rapidly playing arpeggios, each note summoning a jet of water. Within minutes, the entire inferno was put out and all that was left was the remains of the castle and a lot of smoke.

Once they made sure the fire was totally gone, Sora and company said their goodbyes to Demyx and weren't even two yards away when Demyx said," Um, guys, can I come with you? I'm sick of working for Xemnas and having to go on missions I can't even do. And I don't know who else to go with. I don't want to be left alone!"

"Sure thing," agreed Sora. "You're stronger than you think, you know. Maybe you could help us find King Mickey and everybody. We're going to see if maybe they escaped to Traverse Town."

Demyx smiled and ran through the Corridor with them, glad that he had just made some true friends for once.


	9. Chapter 9: Pure Hearts Unite!

**Chapter 9: Pure Hearts Unite!**

**_***Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. No material discussed only in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep or Kingdom Hearts: coded will play a role in this story. Please read at your own risk. _****_Also_****_, _**_**"Adam" is the official name of the Beast's human form according to **_**Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia**_**. Thanks to the **_**Kingdom Hearts Wiki**_** for the info.)**_**_***_**

Wonderland wasn't exactly the most straight-forward place Zexion had ever been to. In fact, even for his brilliant and calculating mind, it was downright frustrating. He was unaware that Wonderland was as unpredictable as one's imagination, but since Zexion thrived more on cunning and intellect, he was not a happy camper in this world and silently cursed Marluxia under his breath after hours of fruitless meandering.

"How hard is it to find a simple girl!" he screamed.

Out of nowhere appeared the head of a cat; the rest of its body slowly materialised shortly after. "It could be very hard, or it could not be hard at all," the Cheshire Cat said in its whimsical tone. "This way, that way, it doesn't matter anyway."

"Would you please stop speaking in riddles?" Zexion asked impatiently. "I need to find a very important person immediately and I don't have time for you stupid little games."

"Temper, temper," the Cat said. "If you ever speak to the Queen in that way it'll be off with you head."

"Off with…my _head_?" Zexion was bewildered. "What are you talking about? What queen?"

"What queen indeed. It's the standard threat, but don't be surprised if you wake up blind and deaf. Some strange things have been happening lately. The Queen's gone mad! Madder than the Hatter, and he's quite mad to being with. It won't be long now before we all go mad! Ha ha!"

Zexion looked slightly intrigued and was distracted from finding the Princess of Heart. "What is this queen's name?"

"Well I wouldn't want to get _my_ head taken off now, would I? Well, since you asked…we call her the Queen of Hearts. You see the castle? That's hers. She's presiding over an important trial at the moment, and you never know who might be on the stand. Hee hee!" And the Cheshire Cat faded away, his laughter lingering a few moments later.

Zexion decided that finding Alice was a lost cause so he turned his attention toward capturing the Queen. Her title meant very little in his mission, but her aggression seemed like it could be a valuable asset…hopefully.

He approached the trial to find everyone staring at him, including the Queen.

The Queen of Hearts stood up. "You there! Where is the accused?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Your Majesty," Zexion answered with perfect eloquence. "I only came to ask you a favour."

"A favour? From the Cheshire Cat, I'm positive! He asked you to convince me to eliminate the charges against him, didn't he? Well then, it will be off with _your_ head instead!"

"I wasn't aware he was to be on trial," Zexion tried to defend himself.

"But you've spoken to him! How do I know you're not lying? Cards! Seize him!"

Zexion took out his hefty lexicon and whispered a passage from it. Immediately the court was obscured in a black mist. When it finally cleared minutes later, both Zexion and the Queen of Hearts were gone.

* * *

When Kairi finally woke up she found herself in a large bed. Her eyes adjusted to the light and she looked around the room. She was in an unfamiliar castle yet she felt no fear. She did, however, feel that part of her was missing and it wasn't the part that missed Sora.

When she realised that Naminé was somehow not with her, the other six Princesses of Heart came into her room with the monster that had kidnapped her. Kairi looked at him and realised right away that he was no monster. She looked at each of the other Princesses and sat up.

"You're finally awake," said a brown-haired Princess wearing a yellow ball gown. "I'm so glad you're okay. I'm Belle."

Kairi sat up straighter. "Yes, I know who all of you are. I dreamt that I'd met you already." She pointed to each Princess and said each of their names. First, she pointed to Snow White, with her short black hair and porcelain face; then to Cinderella, who wore a silver ball gown and had blonde hair even shorter than Snow White's; she skipped Belle and acknowledged Aurora, who had long blonde hair and wore a blue dress that was much simpler than the ones worn by most of her companions. She got out of the bed and said hello to Jasmine (who had long black hair and was dressed in green) and Alice (who was the shortest and youngest of the seven, had long blonde hair and wore a simple blue dress with a white apron).

"And this is Adam," Belle said, gesturing to the Beast.

Kairi looked at Adam again and smiled. "Hello."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Adam asked her. "I apologise for scaring you and, well, kidnapping you."

"That's alright. I understand now why you did it. But—oh my gosh! Riku! He must be so worried about me! What do I do?"

"Well, we'll have to deal with him later," said Aurora. "We have a big problem and we need your help, Kairi."

"My help?" Kairi sat back on the bed, wondering what in the world was going on.

"You know about the Illumina Heart, right?" Aurora began.

Kairi nodded. "And I know that Marluxia stole it. Riku and I were there."

"That's correct," Aurora said. "Well, I'm not sure if you can feel it, but the Illumina Heart has lost its power. Unless we can restore it, Kingdom Hearts will fade and so will all hearts. All our worlds will be destroyed and we will become Heartless. The darkness with overtake us all, even we Princesses of Heart. As the Princesses, the only beings with no darkness residing in our hearts, we must find the Keyblade Master—Sora—and restore the Illumina Heart to its former light and power!"

"What does Sora have to do with anything?" Kairi wasn't prepared to face Sora at this point; it was too much for her.

"The Keyblade is the only thing that can resonate with the Heart," replied Belle. "It also has strong connections to Kingdom Hearts itself. Not only do we have to restore the Illumina Heart, but we must also bring it back to Kingdom Hearts. The Keyblade is the only thing that can bridge the gap between them and destroy the Heartless and Nobodies once and for all."

"Okay," said Kairi. "But what do we do then, if Sora has to restore the Illumina Heart? You said we were an important part of it, too."

"And we are," said Cinderella. "Our hearts must resonate with Sora's. The Keyblade is the key to all hearts, so we must open ours to it in order to give light to the Illumina Heart. It will sound less confusing when the time comes."

"But the only problem is that we haven't been able to find Sora at all," said Alice. "Our seven hearts are connected and yours is strongly tied to Sora's. This allows our hearts to be that well-connected to his as well, but something is blocking out that bond for some reason. Your heart is fading away from our grasp, Kairi. And unless we can reconnect with it soon, the Illumina Heart will be lose what little light it has left, even sooner now that Marluxia has it. He'll try to fill it with darkness and control it."

Kairi's head sank in shame. She knew exactly what was going on and it was all her fault. The fate of every heart and world now rested on her shoulders, and she couldn't do anything about it except to see Sora and ask for his forgiveness. Unless she could cast off her guilt, she would destroy everything.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried. The Princesses immediately came to her side and held her. "This is all my fault! I love him and I've hurt him! My guilt is going to ruin us all!"

"No." Everyone stared at the Beast, who slowly walked toward Kairi. "Look at me," he said, "you will not destroy us. You can eliminate the guilt and pain you feel by going to Sora and explaining why you left. He cares very deeply for you. He'll forgive you."

Kairi stared at the wise prince and wiped her eyes. "You're right. I have to go home to him! Thank you, everyone."

"I'm afraid we can't take you home yet," Aurora said sadly.

"What? Why not?!" Kairi demanded.

"Kairi, please don't get upset," pleaded Snow White.

"Yes," Jasmine said. "We need you to come with us to The World That Never Was first. We have to take the Illumina Heart back so that Organization XIII can't corrupt it. Once we have the Heart, we'll all go to Destiny Islands together and end this. Please?"

Kairi closed her eyes, not able to respond immediately. After a long moment she opened them, looked at each person in the room, and said, "Alright. Let's go."

"I'll go get the Gummi Ship," said the Beast.

"I built that Gummi Ship, you know," Belle said with a wink.

Kairi laughed. "I'm scared."

"Don't be. You'll be fine. We have each other, right? We have the power to get through anything."

Kairi nodded. Then she remembered something. "What happened to Naminé? She's not in me anymore."

Aurora sighed. "She split from your body to find Sora for you. We lost clear sight of him and all we know is that he left the Islands."

"What?! He left? Oh, this is horrible!" Kairi started to cry again.

"Stop it!" Aurora yelled. "Crying isn't going to make things better, Kairi! Naminé will find him, I'm sure of it. In the meantime, we have to get that Heart, understand? You can't blame yourself for following your heart to something like this. The Illumina Heart called you to it."

"It's not just leaving him," Kairi began to explain. "Riku kissed me in the cave. I only held onto it for a second, but that was too long! For that one second, I wanted it! What would Sora say?"

"Kairi, listen to me. You and Riku have been close friends for years and you were in pain over leaving Sora without saying goodbye. Riku was trying to comfort you, yes?" Kairi nodded. "And then he just couldn't hold it in and he kissed you. The reason you held on for that one second was because you were in a vulnerable position and you liked having someone there for you. Have you and Sora ever kissed before? If you don't mind my asking, that is."

"No, we haven't yet. But I want to so bad!"

"I thought so," said Aurora with the tone of an all-knowing mother. "That's why you held on, because you wished it was Sora kissing you. And once you realised it wasn't, you turned away. It happens, Kairi. You shouldn't feel guilty. Just explain the situation to Sora and he'll understand. Adam's right."

Kairi nodded but couldn't speak. Aurora understood and got up off the bed. Prince Adam came back in and said, "The Gummi Ship is ready. Time to go."


	10. Chapter 10: Dark Force Rising

**_***Please note that there will be spoilers for Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II throughout this fanfic. No material discussed only in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep or Kingdom Hearts: coded will play a role in this story. Please read at your own risk.***_**

**Chapter 10: Dark Force Rising**

Memories of his first adventure came back to Sora in droves when he arrived at Traverse Town. He stood for a moment, taking it all in. He smiled and walked around the First District. Axel, Demyx, and Larxene looked at each other, smiling.

"Glad to be back?" Axel asked as they approached the Accessory Shop.

"You bet I am!" Sora replied excitedly. It's been so long since I've been in Traverse Town—the real Traverse Town anyway. The last time Sora had visited the town it was actually a simulation of sorts, crafted by his own memories while he was in Castle Oblivion. He thought back to that time and looked at his Nobody companions. Demyx had not been present at Castle Oblivion, but he remembered his encounters with Axel and Larxene only too well (based on Naminé's account of the events of course).

They proceeded to the Second District, where they decided to check the small house where Leon and the others used to meet. He was surprised to find that there was nobody there.

"What's the matter? Is someone supposed to be here?" Larxene asked.

Sora thought for a moment. "Actually…no. I can't believe I forgot!" He laughed, embarrassed at his lapse in memory. "They all went back home to Radiant Garden. Man, how long have I been away from my friends?"

"Maybe you're just caught in the nostalgia," Axel offered.

"Maybe…"

"Well, let's go then," chimed in Demyx. "I mean, who are we trying to find anyway?"

"Survivors of the attack on that castle, doofus!" Larxene snapped.

"Oh, right. My bad."

Sora left the house without waiting for the others. He was saddened by forgetting where his other friends were. _I think Axel's right though,_ Roxas told him. _Maybe it's like when you first went to Twilight Town in Castle Oblivion. It seemed familiar to you even though you hadn't actually been there because I'd been there._

_No, it's not the same_, replied Sora. _I think I do agree with Axel though. But it's not so much that as it is the fact I miss my friends. Especially Riku and Kairi. Who knows where they are? I hope they're okay…together…_

He heard Roxas sigh and said no more. He aimlessly strolled into the hotel, not even thinking about where his feet were taking him. At the end of the hallway he saw a familiar blonde-haired girl wringing her hands together. All of a sudden, the name clicked in Sora's mind: Naminé. "Naminé?" he called.

She turned around and jumped at the sight of him. "Sora! Is that really you?" She ran over to him, beaming. "I can't believe it! I found you! Well, I guess you found me." She laughed.

Sora laughed, too. "What are you doing here, Naminé? How did you split from Kairi?" He gasped. "Is she here!?"

"No, she's not," said Naminé and Sora's heart sank. "I…split myself from her not too long ago. I came find you so I can mend her heart."

"What's wrong with her heart?" Sora was scared.

"It's broken, Sora. It aches for you. You have no idea how terrible Kairi feels about leaving you without saying goodbye. All she talks about is what you must think of her. I couldn't bear to see her suffer like that anymore, so I left to go find you."

"But how did you leave her body?"

"I'm not sure. It just happened. I really wanted to and maybe her heart was calling out to you. But because she feels so guilty, it's being held away from yours and it's hurting her. I just really wanted to end the pain so since I'm her Nobody and I don't have a heart of my own, I was able to just leave her. Does that make sense? I'm a bit confused myself."

"I think I understand," said Sora. "Wow, she really does care about me."

"Of course she does! How could you ever doubt that?" cried Naminé.

"I dunno, I just though that…maybe she…liked Riku instead of me…"

"It's always been you, Sora. And it always will be. We love you."

"You mean _you_ love me, too?" Sora looked at her with flattered shock.

"I mean that Kairi loves you and I…love Roxas. Since I am one with Kairi—well, not at the moment—and you are one with Roxas, we love you—the plural form of _you_. Get it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I do." Sora couldn't believe what he was hearing. _She loves me! She really loves me, Roxas!_

_Yeah, and Naminé loves me, too? Well, I guess it all makes sense. I told you, man. You and Kairi are perfect for each other._

_Same with you and Naminé. We need to find Kairi now._

"So," Sora said to Naminé, "is anyone else with you?"

"Lots of people as a matter of fact," Naminé said, beaming again. "Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy went to make sure there weren't any Heartless, and Queen Minnie, Daisy, and Pluto are asleep. Disney Castle was just attacked recently."

"Yeah, we were just there. We stopped Xigbar and Xaldin and put out the fire. Demyx was a big help with that last thing. And Larxene…well, we took care of things."

"I'm so sorry, Naminé!" Larxene burst out. "I want to make up for Castle Oblivion, I really do! Please forgive me."

"I already have," Naminé told her. "I can see that you three have changed. That's why I'm not afraid. Come on, Tifa's here, too." And she led Sora, Axel, Demyx, and Larxene to a room at the other end of the hallway.

Sora was glad to see Tifa. But there was one man he did not recognise. After he said hello to his friends he went over to the stranger. He felt a very strong force within him, almost like a massive heart that poured energy into the universe with each beat. He stared at the man for a minute, then remembered what was going on and said, "Hi, I'm Sora. What's your name?"

The man looked at him intently the same way Sora had looked at him. He could see in Sora's bright blue eyes that he held the key to the future after all. "My name is Trace," he answered. "It is good to finally meet you, Sora. At last, I can say that I have met the Keyblade Master. It is a happy day indeed."

Sora looked into Trace's jade eyes again and saw in them an intensity that was fierce but at the same time subdued. Trace's expression contained that same entanglement of emotions. He looked as if he was feeling every emotion possible and then some.

"Let me cut to the chase, Sora," Trace said suddenly. "You are in grave danger and Organization XIII is after you. I sense that you know about the existence of the Illumina Heart so I won't have to explain that part. But you must be aware of why it is so important and where you tie into all of this.

"The Illumina Heart is a crystal, a very powerful crystal. Kingdom Hearts is the heart of all worlds, but you knew that, right? Well, the Illumina Heart is what binds the hearts of all people together, both the hearts that people have…and the heart that people once had. You see, when someone loses their heart, it does not disappear forever. The Illumina Heart finds it and keeps it alive. Because of this, even when someone becomes a Heartless or a Nobody, there is still hope that they can find their heart and become whole again. This doesn't usually happen though, because you have to fall very deep into darkness to lose your heart.

"The Illumina Heart keeps light flowing through each and every one of us, but it also contains a little darkness. If the Heart falls into the wrong hands and that darkness is exploited and fed, all hearts will fall to the darkness and will be lost. Kingdom Hearts will become a dark entity as a result and I cannot even fathom what would happen then."

Sora was petrified by what he had just been told. "That's terrible! We have to keep the Heart safe! But what's my part in all this?"

"The Keyblade is the bridge between the Illumina Heart and the light of Kingdom Hearts. You know that when you defeat a Heartless, the heart it had stolen is released and goes to Kingdom Hearts. Well, its light goes through the Illumina Heart first, and then the heart can finally move on to Kingdom Hearts where it stays alive. If a heart goes to Kingdom Hearts, it cannot be easily recovered. Organization XIII wants to capture you so you can intercept the hearts before their journey is complete. Then they can take the hearts for themselves to become complete.

"Once they've done that, they will corrupt the Illumina Heart and bring about unimaginable devastation upon all worlds. The bad news is that Marluxia has already taken possession of the heart. But there is one thing that he knows not and now is not the time for me to reveal it to you. I must wait until you are safe from their clutches."

"Okay, so the Illumina Heart is part of the cycle that a heart goes through after it's lost. And my Keyblade allows it to go to Kingdom Hearts how?"

"Its light guides it," Trace replied simply. "Without the Keyblade, the heart gets lost and wanders aimlessly until a Heartless finds it and then that Heartless must be defeated by the Keyblade so it can start the cycle over again. Organization XIII wants you for this reason, but any Keyblade will work. That's why we must also keep Riku, Kairi, and King Mickey safe from harm."

"But Kairi's on her way to confront Xemnas with the other Princesses of Heart," said Naminé. "And King Mickey's been captured by him. What do we do?"

"We must consult Master Yen Sid in Twilight Town," said Trace. "We must get the Illumina Heart from Marluxia, but we also must save the King and fetch Kairi and the Princesses. There are too many things to do. We should leave right this moment so we can formulate a plan. Dark forces are on the rise and the struggle is far from over. Everything that has happened in the past was just the beginning, if you will pardon my use of such a cliché. Let us go."


	11. Chapter 11: Crystal Humanity

**_***Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. No material discussed only in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep or Kingdom Hearts: coded will play a role in this story. Please read at your own risk.***_**

**Chapter 11: Crystal Humanity**

"It is our only option, Your _Majesty_," Maleficent said to Mickey. "We have no choice but to join forces if we are to have any hope of escaping this prison. Those Organization fools have no idea what lies in store for them now that they've crossed me: the Mistress of All Evil!"

Mickey was hesitant to team up with Maleficent, but with their powers combined, surely they would be able to escape Xemnas' clutches. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

Maleficent was getting impatient. She stared intently at him, as if she was trying to burn him with her eyes. Mickey must have sensed this because at that instant he opened his and turned to face her. "Have you decided?" Maleficent asked him.

"You're absolutely right," he replied. "So what's the plan, Maleficent?"

"Just use the power of the Keyblade. It should not fail, correct? And I'll just use my own powers. They have no idea who they are dealing with here."

Mickey closed his eyes again and summoned his Keyblade. He saw a glimmer of desire in Maleficent's eyes but ignored it. "All right then," he said. "Let's do our stuff!"

In a flash of white light and green flames, Mickey broke through his cell with the Keyblade while Maleficent burst through hers by turning into a jet-black dragon.

The ensuing commotion caused Xemnas, Xaldin, and Saïx to come back into the room. "What is this!?" Xemnas cried. "How is this possible?"

Mickey jumped on Maleficent's back; they nearly trampled the two cloaked men as they left the room. They crashed through the castle until they reached an empty hallway.

Maleficent turned back into her normal form and summoned a Dark Corridor. "Follow me," she said. "If you are able."

Mickey followed her without a word.

They appeared at Disney Castle. Mickey was surprised to see the fire put out. There wasn't even any smoke anymore.

"Such a shame," Maleficent said with mock despair. "It would have made a fine domain for me. Of course, you wouldn't be willing to share it, especially under these circumstances, would you?" Then she cackled a little.

"It's not funny, Maleficent!" Mickey yelled. He wasn't one to raise his voice often, if ever. Maleficent was slightly taken aback.

"I was only trying to lighten the mood, Your Highness. After all, isn't that what a _friend_ would do?" It was clear she was enjoying his pain, but a miniscule fraction of her words lacked malice. Perhaps the King's presence was the cause, but she had yet to notice it.

"This isn't a laughing matter," Mickey said patiently. "I have to rebuild this castle as soon as possible. But there's no time right now. I've gotta find Sora!"

"Well, then what are you waiting for?" Maleficent asked. "Go find your precious Keybearer. I must learn more about this Illumina Heart." And with that, Maleficent disappeared in a flash of green fire.

* * *

It had been a while since Sora, Donald, and Goofy had seen Master Yen Sid, King Mickey's old teacher. Sora was confident that Yen Sid would have some answers as to what exactly was going on. He gave Trace an anxious look; Trace responded by placing his hand on Sora's shoulder.

"Everything will be explained very, very soon," said Trace. Master Yen Sid and I will tell you everything you need to know."

"But why couldn't you just tell me everything yourself?" Sora asked.

"Because he has something that I can't give you."

"Like what?"

Trace was silent. Then he turned Sora around to face him and put both hands on his shoulders. "Hold still for a second. I've got something only I can give you." And he began to glow with golden light.

In a flash Sora felt lighter. He looked to his left and saw that he had been split from Roxas! They both jumped at the sight of each other and then gaped at Trace.

"How did you do that!?" they asked in unison, like they were still together.

"I thought that Roxas should be himself for a little while," replied Trace.

"Wow," was all Roxas could say. "Hey, Sora."

"Roxas! You're…you!" Axel was dumbfounded and excited at the same time. "This is amazing! Just who are you, Trace?"

"Yeah, are you some kind of magician or something?" Larxene asked.

"I do have some special powers, yes," said Trace.

"Well, whatever you are, you're a pretty cool guy!" admired Demyx.

Sora laughed. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

When they reached Yen Sid's tower the sorcerer was already at the door waiting for them.

"It's so good to see you all. Please, come inside."

Sora and the gang followed him up the myriad spiral stairways until they reached the large room where Sora had first met Yen Sid. They looked around, taking in the scenery, until Yen Sid called them over to his desk.

"Now, Trace has told me that he has explained all about the Illumina Heart. But there is one detail he has not revealed. Trace, would you mind sharing it now?"

"Indeed, Master." Trace closed his eyes for a moment, then reopened them, ready to speak. "I am…the physical manifestation of the Illumina Heart. In other words, I'm the Heart in human form."

Everyone else except for Yen Sid gasped and stared at him.

Sora was the first to speak after the initial shock. "B-but how? Marluxia has the Heart. And why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"I told you that the heart was losing power, did I not? Shortly before Marluxia snatched it, it sensed that it would be soon be in danger because of the looming darkness. So to save itself, it created a human and put all its power and identity into him. I am that human and since that moment, I am now the Illumina Heart. The crystal Marluxia has is useless right now; it is nothing more than an empty shell. Soon he will realise this and will try even harder to find you. Zexion discovered papers detailing most of the information I've already given you. Larxene, you saw those papers, correct?"

"Yeah," said Larxene, "but how did you know that?"

"All hearts are connected through me," Trace answered. "I see, feel, and know everything that happens to everyone; therefore, I am an omniscient entity. It's a little invasive, I know, but that's how it is."

"Trace also forgot to mention that he is the one responsible for bringing Organization XIII's Nobodies back to life," Yen Sid chimed in.

Everyone stared at Trace again, this time with even more furtive intensity.

Axel spoke up this time: "You mean, the Illumina Heart revived us? But we don't have hearts. How could we have been connected in any way?"

"Well," Trace began to explain, "the hearts you once had were still connected to me and by a fluke, their energies called your Nobody and Heartless forms back in an attempt to complete you all. Unfortunately, most of you were so steeped in darkness as Nobodies and Heartless that it didn't work and all those pieces were revived as they were. Your hearts are dying and soon you'll all fade away. Marluxia and Xemnas must be feeling this or else they wouldn't be trying so desperately to command my power."

"So let me get this straight, Xemnas wants the Heart, too?" Demyx asked.

"Yes," Yen Sid said. "And he and Marluxia command rival factions now. In Xemnas' group, he has Xaldin and Saïx. Marluxia has Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion. Xigbar has obviously been destroyed by Larxene, and Trace has destroyed Luxord."

"And then of course, we have Axel, Demyx, Larxene, and Roxas here on our side," Trace said. "And your group has the Heart, so consider that a point for you." He chuckled.

"So everyone's after you and Sora?" Donald asked nervously.

"Yeah," said Sora.

"Well, don't worry fellas!" Goofy said with resolve. "We'll make sure nothin' happens to ya. We just gotta stick together, that's all!"

Everybody nodded and then looked at each other.

Tifa spoke up: "And Cloud, Cid, Yuffie, Squall, Aerith, and Merlin are on our side, too. We've got you back, Sora and Trace!"

"And don't forget Riku, Kairi, Naminé, the Princesses, and all of those whom you've helped in the different worlds," Yen Sid added.

"There are so many people that will keep you safe," said Axel. "And we'll all do our part to end this once and for all. Even if it means that us Nobodies will have to disappear forever in order to succeed. Only Roxas and Naminé will remain."

"Don't talk like that," Sora said. "It'll all be fine. No one good will fade away. I can feel it in my heart." He turned to Trace and Yen Sid. "So where should we go from here?"

"Our priority right now is to secure the crystal," Trace said. "That means that we must confront Marluxia and his crew at Castle Oblivion. And don't worry; your memories won't be altered this time around. I'll prevent it and the only reason the castle seemed to have that effect was because of Naminé. It was her right from the time you first stepped into the castle. So let's—"

Trace was interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone—Tifa's.

"Hello?" she answered the call. "…WHAT!?" she gasped. The phone fell out of her hand as her jaw dropped and everyone else was paralysed, fearing the worst…

* * *

"WHERE IS HE!? I'LL GIVE YOU ONE LAST CHANCE TO TELL ME WHERE SORA IS!" Lexaeus was downright furious. He had Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka trapped in the Secret Place and his failure of an interrogation had him down to his last nerve.

The three kids were scared out of their wits by their hulking captor but still refused to sell their friend out. Still, they knew that unless one of them talked, they would all be crushed soon…or worse.

Lexaeus let out a formidable growl and stomped yet again. The tremors he was creating were insanely powerful; the three friends were still dizzy from the first one.

"Okay! Okay!" Tidus yelled. "He's not here! There, happy? Leave us alone!"

"That's not good enough!" Lexaeus bellowed. "_Where_ did he go? WHERE?"

"We don't know!" cried Wakka. "He left through some dark portal or something!"

"A dark portal…he doesn't know how to use the Corridors of Darkness…" Lexaeus' mood decreased in intensity as he began to ponder this new development. "The only way he's be able to use one is if somebody else had summoned one. But who could have done that? Riku was already gone by that point."

"He left with two people in black cloaks," said Selphie. "But we don't know who they are!" She repeated the descriptions they had given Trace.

Lexaeus' eyes widened immensely. "Axel and Larxene! Traitors to the very core! You've done very well, children. You're free to go but if you _ever_ repeat _any_ of this to of this to _anyone_, then I'll shake you up so hard that you'll never know up from down again!" And with that, he disappeared into a Corridor of his own. He may not have found Sora, but he had learned some very valuable information. _Marluxia will be more than pleased_, he thought to himself.


	12. Chapter 12: Frostbite

**_***Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. No material discussed only in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep or Kingdom Hearts: coded will play a role in this story. Please read at your own risk.***_**

**Chapter 12: Frostbite**

Zexion was reporting his experience in Wonderland to Marluxia. "…and so I summoned black mist with my lexicon and came back here with the Queen of Hearts. I doubt her title reflects any special talents, but I did not want to come back empty-handed."

"So you have no idea where Alice is?" asked Marluxia.

"No, not at all." Zexion considered lowering his head in shame, but Marluxia had a curious look on his face that didn't seem condemning in any way.

"This is interesting," Marluxia said after a moment.

"What is?" Zexion asked.

"I've sent you to Agrabah, Enchanted Dominion, and Dwarf Woodlands, and now Wonderland, and no Princesses of Heart can be found. Where could they be? I'm willing to assume that Cinderella, Belle, and Kairi are not where they should be, either."

"That is strange. Would you like me to make sure though?"

"We might as well. Search the Castle of Dreams, Destiny Islands, and Beast's Castle. Don't come back until you've searched every nook and cranny of those worlds."

"Yes, Marluxia," Zexion said as he vanished into a Dark Corridor.

"I suppose I'd better check on the Queen and the Doctor," Marluxia said to himself.

At that moment, Lexaeus returned, smiling ear to ear.

"Why are you so happy, Lexaeus? You've come back empty-handed. At least Zexion brought someone back with him even though she's most likely useless." Marluxia was angry—at least, he acted angry.

"I think you'll be happy to know that I've acquired a very valuable piece of information, Marluxia." Lexaeus had a smug look on his face. "Axel and Larxene went to Destiny Islands to see Sora."

"Really? Go on." Marluxia's lips slightly curved into a smile but he wasn't totally satisfied yet.

"Well, I managed to learn from some of the island kids that Sora left with them to parts unknown. I'd be more than happy to go find them for you."

"No, that's alright, Lexaeus. You've done enough for now. I'll send Vexen to find them. Where is he by the way? I haven't seen him in a while."

"At least let me go find him then. Did he go to any worlds?"

"No, he's here. Thank you Lexaeus." As the Silent Hero left Marluxia went to the room where Dr. Finklestein and the Queen of Hearts were being held prisoner. "Well," he said to them, "anything you'd like to share with me? My patience can only hold out for so long."

The Doctor still hadn't told Marluxia anything about hearts yet and it didn't seem likely that he would for quite some time. Marluxia decided that harsh interrogations weren't going to work so he decided to take a more casual approach for the time being. He knew that time was of the essence though, and he decided that he could only afford to wait another week at the most.

The Queen was scared out her wits, a radical change in character for her. Marluxia didn't bother to look at her; he knew she was nothing special. He considered bringing her back to Wonderland, but decided against it in case he could somehow use her as bait to get a hold of Alice. Finding the Princesses was his number one priority.

Half an hour later Lexaeus returned, frantic with worry.

"He's gone, Marluxia, Vexen's gone!" he yelled.

"Where did he go?" Marluxia calmly asked.

"How should I know!?" Lexaeus was never one to freak out, but his sudden change in mood didn't concern his leader.

"Just leave him be for now," Marluxia told him. "If he doesn't come back in due time then we'll go find him." He had a feeling he knew what was going on with Vexen and decided to see how things played out. He felt a frigid pulse somewhere deep down inside him; he barely noticed it.

* * *

Tifa stared at the floor where her phone now lay shattered. All eyes were on her and hers were wide with shock and fear. Slowly, she looked up and turned to face the others.

"…Leon went into a coma," she whispered.

The room filled with gasps.

Sora was the first to speak. "We should see if there's anything we can do."

"No," Tifa said. "If we all go then it'll just make things harder for everyone. Plus, we need to get the Illumina Heart back. I'll just go by myself to Radiant Garden. You guys get going to Castle Oblivion."

Yen Sid summoned Cid's Gummi Ship and escorted her from the room.

Trace turned to Sora and the others. "She's right. We need to secure to crystal. I can feel Squall's heart and he's going to be okay. Is everyone ready to go?"

No one said a word.

* * *

"Hello?" Tifa called before Merlin's house even came into view. When it did, she gasped; it was completely frozen. She walked carefully inside, and was relieved to find it empty. She darted back and forth around town until she saw patches of snow along the ground. She followed them all the way to Hollow Bastion.

She arrived to see Cloud, Cid, Yuffie, and Merlin fighting a man wearing a black cloak and carrying a giant blue shield. She ran to them and kicked the cloaked man from behind.

"ARGH!" he cried. He swung his shield and smashed Tifa's arm; everyone heard the bone make a clean break.

Now it was Tifa's turn to cry out in pain. Cloud and Yuffie ran over to her instantly. "Are you alright!?" they both yelled.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Who is this guy?"

"I am Vexen of Organization XIII! And don't you forget it!" the man proclaimed. He lunged toward Cloud and Yuffie but they leaped into the air with Tifa and landed at Merlin's side.

"Ow!" Tifa cried.

"Sorry," said Cloud and he set her down on the ground.

"Come here!" Vexen snarled, but he was interrupted by a woman's scream.

"Aerith!" Cloud, Yuffie, Tifa, Cid, and Merlin shouted.

There was a flash of pink and purple and they saw Aerith being carried away by an oddly-dressed man. They flew past them in a blur and Cloud and Yuffie immediately took off after them.

Vexen shook a little, as if he had sensed something, then took off as well.

"Let's get her inside," Merlin said as Cid scooped her up off the ground. They carried her into Hollow Bastion and brought her to the room where Leon had been moved to. Cid placed her in a bed next to Leon's.

"Can I borrow your phone, Cid?" Tifa asked.

"Sure thing, but what's wrong with yours?" asked Cid.

"It broke."

"Oh, well here, you want me to dial for you?"

"Yeah, thanks." Tifa recited Trace's phone number and then took Cid's phone with her left hand—the one that wasn't attached to a broken arm. "Trace, change of plans. Get over to here now! Vexen from the Organization's here and some guy just ran off with Aerith! Cloud and Yuffie went after him and then Vexen did, too. They looked like they were headed for the Great Maw. What is it about that place?"

"Okay, we're on our way!" Trace's voice said.

Tifa hung up the phone and handed it back to Cid. "Trace and Sora are on their way."

* * *

Trace, Sora, Roxas, Axel, Demyx, and Naminé went to the Great Maw while Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy stayed behind with Tifa, Cid, Merlin, and Leon's comatose body; Yen Sid had chosen to stay in his tower and see if he could locate the Princesses of Heart.

When Sora and the Nobodies arrived they found Cloud and Yuffie fighting off Vexen and chasing Aerith and her captor at the same time. They sprinted across the wasteland and managed to catch up to them; Sora tripped Vexen and held him down.

"Sora!" Cloud called. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to help you!" Sora called back. "Go get Aerith! We'll handle Vexen."

Cloud and Yuffie nodded and took off after Aerith.

Vexen struggled to break free from Sora's grasp but the young Keyblade Master had grown much stronger since their last encounter in Castle Oblivion. "Grr! Get _off_ me!" he yelled.

"No! Get lost, Vexen!" Sora yelled back.

"I have to follow him!"

"Who? That guy who ran off with Aerith?"

"Yes! But wait! Who's behind you? Show yourselves!"

Everything stood in front of Vexen and Sora.

Vexen was shocked. "Roxas! Axel, Larxene, and Demyx! Naminé! And…no! Impossible!" He looked at Trace. "Who are you? You feel so…familiar… I feel this connection to you… What's going on here!?"

"We _are_ connected, Vexen," Trace said to him. "We are all connected. I'm sure I don't need to explain things any more than that. Of course, you may need a heart to fully understand."

"I _don't_ understand! Tell me!"

"There's no time for that," said Trace. "Who is that man and why are you so intent on catching up to him?"

"That's Kuja! He's an associate of mine and I need to speak to him! I'd also like to know why he has that girl with him but I sensed a strong power within her. Perhaps she could be another—" He stopped himself before he gave too much away.

Unfortunately he had still said too much. "Another what?" Trace pressed him. "Tell me, Vexen."

"NO! It is classified information! Get OFF!" And with a mighty growl he managed to escape from Sora's grasp and take off after Cloud and Yuffie.

"Let's go!" Trace called to everyone, and they all ran off after Vexen together.


	13. Chapter 13: Detour

**_***Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. No material discussed only in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep or Kingdom Hearts: coded will play a role in this story. Please read at your own risk.***_**

**Chapter 13: Detour**

Kairi slept throughout the trip to The World That Never Was. Aurora and Belle were the most concerned about her; she seemed paler than usual and her eyes now had bags under them. She did not look well at all.

"What do you think could be wrong with her?" Aurora asked Belle.

"Well," Belle answered, "it could be Naminé's absence. Kairi needs Naminé to be complete and now that she's gone, it's causing her health to deteriorate. Her guilt and emotional pain isn't making matters any better, either."

"It's so sad," Snow White sighed. "I wish there was something we could do to help her."

"The sooner Sora and Naminé come to Kairi, the better," said Belle. "Until then, we have to do our job and confront Xemnas. We need that Illumina Heart!"

"Will she be well enough, I wonder?" said Cinderella.

"I sure hope so," Aurora replied. "But unless she lets go of her emotional baggage, perhaps that's just wishful thinking. Kairi's not in any condition to ward off the darkness…or the nothingness. Let's just keep our hearts strong enough to pick up the slack until she's better."

The Princesses fell into silence for the next little while. The Beast had not said a word since they'd all boarded the Gummi Ship. He concentrated on getting his lover and her companions to their destination safely and wore a look of apprehension; he had a feeling somebody was going to get hurt.

Kairi stirred a few times in her sleep and mumbled fragmented, unintelligible nothings from time to time, but she did not wake up.

That is, until the Gummi Ship was abruptly shaken to the core.

"Ah! What's going on?" Kairi screamed as she awoke.

"We've been hit!" the Beast roared. "Somebody's spotted us! I'm going to have to land the ship."

"Who could it be?" Alice whispered to herself.

"Could it be someone from Organization XIII?" asked Jasmine.

"It's a possibility," Aurora said, "but you never know. There are many who would want us either destroyed or captured. Stay on you guard, everyone!"

Kairi was scared to death despite the aura of security the other Princesses gave off. She longed to be in Sora's arms and began to cry—again.

"Please, Kairi, now isn't the time for tears," Belle told her. She was getting a little impatient with Kairi's sporadic fits of weeping; they reminded her too much of when the Beast was being manipulated by Xaldin and all the pain the two had endured during that time.

"I-I'm sorry, Belle," Kairi gasped. "I just w-wish S-S-Sora was here."

"I know, I know," Belle said soothingly, "and he'll be here soon. I know it."

"I can feel his heart c-calling out to me but I can't find a way to answer him."

"Just let your heart take control for now," Jasmine said. "It knows best. Right now, let's just calm down and get out of here."

The ship was hit again at that very moment and the Beast roared louder than ever before.

"That's ENOUGH!" The ship lurched to the left and began its rapid descent to a world that no one recognised.

The attacker didn't seem to have followed them as they fled. This made everyone sigh with relief. They stepped out of the Gummi Ship and took in the new scenery: an old encampment surrounded by trees and bamboo; old, tattered tents were set up in rows all along the camp and a clearing was visible beyond the high walls.

"It looks like this is a military encampment," Belle observed. "There must be an army nearby. Maybe we should try to find them and see if they could help fix the Gummi Ship."

There was a collective nod and the party left the camp.

They stepped into the clearing where they marvelled at a waterfall that looked wonderfully picturesque as the water cased down the mountainside. They then looked at the crossroads and wondered which path the army might have taken.

"I can see a palace of some sort way off in the distance that way," the Beast said, pointing down the path to the right. Perhaps we should go ask the king for help."

"Good idea," Kairi said, and she walked down the path without them.

"Wait, Kairi!" Alice called as she and the others ran to catch up with her. "You can't go by yourself! What if there are Heartless and Nobodies? You're not well enough to fight them on your own."

"I just want to get this over with," Kairi sullenly replied. "Come on."

Snow White gave the other Princesses a worried look, which was returned by all. They continued to follow Kairi to the palace.

When they arrived they found a massive group of people crowded around something at the palace gates. The crowd parted as the Beast and the Princesses approached; Adam was surprised that no one found him hideous or frightening and grinned a little. But he quickly frowned when he saw the people's emperor hunched over on the group, clutching his stomach.

"Quick, get a doctor!" someone cried.

"Get Captain Shang and Captain Mulan as well!" shouted someone else who was engaged in a fit of hysterics.

Kairi knelt down by the Emperor's side and asked him what had happened.

"It…it was…so horrible," he could barely say. "Shan…Shan-Yu has…returned with Heartless. His…spirit…still walks among…us…" And with that he passed out while the crowd around him gasped.

A man and a woman, both dressed in armour, burst through the doors just then, chasing the ghost of Shan-Yu, the former leader of the Hun army who had recently invaded China. The townsfolk quickly ran away from the large mob of Heartless that surrounded the ghost; they fled back to their villages and locked their doors and windows.

"Shang, go get a doctor for the Emperor! I'll go after Shan-Yu," the woman said.

"Mulan, don't! He's too powerful and you can't even touch him! Stay here while I get the doctor," the man replied.

Aurora moved out of his way as he ran back inside the palace. She then walked over to the woman, who was now kneeling opposite Kairi. "What's happened here?" she asked.

"That was the ghost of Shan-Yu, the Hun," the woman replied. "He was just recently defeated during his invasion but obviously his rage still lingers. And he still has control over the Heartless. They've been attacking the villagers left and right for weeks and the army is running on little sleep or food; there's just no time for anything other than fighting off Heartless. Just now Shan-Yu came up the stairs and attacked the Emperor without a word! Shang and I were inside tending to some injured soldiers. We should've been outside with the Emperor!" She banged her hands against the ground in anger.

"Well, the doctor can fix him, can't he?" Snow White asked.

"I'm sure he can. By the way, my name is Fa Mulan. The man I was with is Li Shang. We're both captains of the Imperial Army."

The Beast and the Princesses (except for Kairi) introduced themselves. Mulan looked at Kairi but Kairi ignored her and stared blankly into the sky.

"Sora…" she sighed.

"Sora?" Mulan said. "You know him? Is he here? We could really use his help. He was the one who ultimately defeated Shan-Yu, you know. His Keyblade was so powerful."

"Please, don't mention him," Cinderella whispered to Mulan. "She misses him terribly."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Mulan. "I didn't know you knew him."

"It's…okay," Kairi said. "My name's Kairi by the way. Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Well, what brings you to China in the first place? Can I help _you_ with something?"

"We were travelling when our ship got attacked," Aurora explained. "We had to make an emergency landing here and we were wondering if there were some soldiers available to help repair our ship. But it doesn't seem like that's the case."

"No, I'm sorry to say there's no one free at the moment. If we could get rid of the Heartless and the ghost once and for all then maybe we could help you."

"Then we'll fight," Kairi suddenly said with intensity. She stood up. We'll get rid of all these Heartless _and_ Shan-Yu's ghost. Then we can go and stop the Organization and find Sora!" She turned around and took off back toward the crossroads where Shan-Yu and his army of Heartless fled to.

"Kairi, come back!" Belle called. She turned to the other Princesses and the Beast. "We have to go after her!" They nodded and followed Belle.

"Be careful!" Mulan called after them. "Shang and I will come help you once the Emperor is taken care of!"

Kairi had gone through the encampment to a bamboo grove in the opposite direction of the valley with the crossroads. Belle and the others followed her footprints.

Kairi stared at the Heartless army and the formidable ghost, mustering as much strength and courage as possible. She'd only fought once before with her very own Keyblade in The World That Never Was; likewise, she had very little experience and back then she'd fought alongside Sora and Riku.

Her comrades caught up with her and gasped at the sheer number of monsters that they faced. They huddled around Kairi and closed their eyes.

Each Princess started to glow, including Kairi. All the Heartless and Shan-Yu closed their eyes because of the blinding radiance and staggered backwards.

Kairi broke through the huddle and summoned her Keyblade like she'd done it all her life. She leaped at Shan-Yu and swung like a pro; he dissipated on contact, the rematerialized behind Aurora.

The light from the Princesses of Heart merged into a gargantuan column which doubled in diameter every second, until it had destroyed every Heartless in the grove. Shan-Yu's ghost looked on in horror as Kairi swung her Keyblade one last time and the light snuffed him out for good.

The light disappeared at once, as did Kairi's Keyblade.

"That was incredible," the Beast said in awe. "I've never seen such a powerful light before. The heart truly is glorious.'

"I could feel him," Kairi said. "I could feel Sora. That's how I summoned my Keyblade: my heart reached his. I think he may be close."

"That's so good to hear!" Alice cried, smiling from ear to ear. "That means your hearts are reconnecting! It won't be long now before the two of you are reunited. I'm so happy for you!"

The other Princesses beamed as well. They began their walk back to the palace when they met up with Shang and Mulan.

"Is everything alright?" Mulan asked. "We saw that light from the palace. What happened?"

"We got rid of Shan-Yu and the Heartless," Kairi answered simply. "We're the seven Princesses of Heart. We're on our way to stop Xemnas and Organization XIII from flooding the worlds with darkness. It won't be long now before we stop the Heartless once and for all."

"Well, all of China is forever grateful," Shang said. "Thank you."

"How is the Emperor?" Jasmine asked. "Is he alright now?"

"Yes, he's being taken care of by the best doctor for miles," Mulan said cheerfully. Thank you so much for your help."

"You're very welcome, but I'm afraid we must leave now," Cinderella said. "Would you be able to have some soldiers help us fix our ship?"

"Sure thing," said Mulan.

"Where is your ship," asked Shang.

"We landed it in the encampment. Didn't you see it?" asked the Beast.

"No," Shang and Mulan both said.

"Come to think of it," recalled Alice, "I didn't see it when we came back through, either. Where could it have one?"

"This isn't good," Snow White said anxiously. "How will we get stop Xemnas if we're trapped here?"

Everyone looked at each other, then at the empty space where the Gummi Ship had just been hours earlier.


	14. Chapter 14: Heartbeat

**_***Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. No material discussed only in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep or Kingdom Hearts: coded will play a role in this story. Please read at your own risk.***_**

**Chapter 14: Heartbeat**

The castle of Hollow Bastion towered beyond the horizon of its town, Radiant Garden. Kuja gracefully floated into the entrance hall with Aerith still struggling in his arms. He blinked and she fell unconscious. He sent he down in front of the fountain and turned to face the great pair of doors.

Vexen came through just not even a minute later. "What are you doing here, Kuja?" he asked.

"I came for her," Kuja answered as he pointed to Aerith. "I can feel a great power resonating in her heart. Its intensity is much like that of Terra's, though they are quite different from each other. Speaking of Terra, your Slave Crown works like a dream. She is completely mindless without instruction. She won't even breathe unless I tell her to!"

"Would you ever doubt the infallibility of my inventions, Kuja? I even helped Zexion develop his Malevoleeches. Those work perfectly as well."

"He's only used on that Squall character," Kuja pointed out; Vexen scowled. "Don't look at me like that, Vexen. One leech worked, but there are still many more. How do you know that they all work?"

"They were all made exactly the same!" Vexen barked. "But you're right, as a scientist I must confirm that they work as they should. In the meantime, where is Terra?"

"Marluxia sent her to Deep Jungle to do some reconnaissance before he and Lexaeus went there to take the Illumina Heart. Based on my previous report of course."

"Don't look so smug," said Vexen. "So you sensed the Heart in that cave. Big deal! You couldn't go anywhere near it, could you? You're only so useful, Kuja."

"I'm useful enough. You'd better stop antagonising me, Vexen. I'm not in the mood for you're poor sportsmanship. I'll see you later. Adieu!"

Vexen grumbled under his breath as Kuja vanished with Aerith. "I made you who you are, Kuja! Show some respect!"

He went back outside to see if he was being followed and, sure enough, when he looked out the door Sora and Trace were staring right at him. Naminé, Roxas, Axel, Larxene, and Demyx were behind them.

"Ack!" Vexen gasped. He jumped back and readied his shield. "You interlopers are really annoying me. Get lost!"

"How can Nobodies get annoyed?" Sora asked smugly. "Give it up, Vexen. You're cornered!"

"Not for long!" the Chilly Academic screamed as he lunged toward Sora, ready to choke the life out of him. Roxas swatted him down with his Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion.

"That's enough!" Trace yelled in a booming voice. He picked Vexen up by the collar of his sable coat. "Either you tell us what is going on right this second, or you'll never live to see your goal of getting a heart come to fruition! Do I make myself clear?"

"_Very_," Vexen spit.

Trace tossed him back down. "I'm listening, Even."

"I cannot be called by that name! I am not Even without a heart!"

"Who is Kuja?" Naminé asked sweetly.

"He is an associate of mine, I already told you!"

"That's not good enough!" Trace yelled in his face.

"Please, Vexen, tell us. It is very important that you give us some answers." Naminé was prepared to play to good cop.

"I can't say anything or else Marluxia would be furious," said Vexen.

Trace glared at him. It was obvious which cop he was acting as.

"Fine. You win. Kuja is a man who comes from another world, one that not even I nor Marluxia even know about. Kuja remembers very little about it either or how he came to Castle Oblivion, but he was very tired and weak when he arrived. Marluxia placed him under my care and I took him on as an apprentice of sorts. As his strength came back to him I noticed that he had a very strong heart, very strong indeed.

"At first he was merely a recorder and observer. I was working on some projects and he offered good input. But as he recovered his powers, Marluxia and I started sending him on reconnaissance missions to find out more about the Illumina Heart."

"And because of his efforts you found it," Trace finished.

Vexen hesitated. "…Yes…"

"I see," said Axel. "It all makes sense now, Vexen ol' boy! So you've got yourself a new little pet, just like the Riku Replica. Only this time he's a real boy, ain't he?"

"Hmph! You're contempt is still no more irritating than it used to be, Axel. Why are you with the Keyblade Master anyway?"

"Because he's my friend, something that no amount of research would ever help you understand!"

Vexen scoffed. "To be a friend and to have one in return, one must have a heart! Don't kid yourself, any of you!"

"What else does Kuja do?" Sora asked. "And what did he want with Aerith?"

"That girl has a very powerful heart, even I can sense that. Kuja must have as well. No doubt he wants to make a project of his own out of her. She could definitely be useful…"

"Is he headed fro Castle Oblivion?" asked Roxas.

"How should I know!?"

"Well, he's _your_ "apprentice," isn't he?" Larxene reminded him. "Honestly, Vexen, if you can't control your acolytes then you're totally useless."

"DO _NOT_ CALL ME USELESS!" Vexen jumped up and swung his shield at Larxene, cutting her chin.

"You monster!" she shrieked. "Look what you've done!" She swiped back at him but barely scratched the shield.

Vexen warped to the top of the stairs and looked down at everyone, who now had their weapons drawn (except for Trace and Naminé). "Come and get me! I dare you!"

Sora and Roxas sprinted up the stairs and attacked him from both sides; Vexen jumped down into the fountain and went for Axel.

"Oh no you don't" Axel said as he hurled a fireball at his former comrade.

Vexen fell to his knees and yelled in pain. "Confound it all!"

Demyx backed away like the coward he was. "Watch it, man," he said to Vexen. "Just chill out okay? Uh, no pun intended there, ha ha…"

Sora slashed at hi again and cut the right should of his coat. "Take that!" he yelled.

Vexen swiped at Sora but missed. "You stupid boy! Come here!"

Trace judo-chopped him in the back of the neck; Vexen keeled over. "You want to play nicely and tell us what we need to know or shall we get this show really going? It's your call."

Vexen opened his mouth to speak but then gasped as he saw Axel and Larxene.

Trace and the others turned to look at them as well: they were clutching their chests and kneeling on the ground. They ran to gather around them but Trace held them off.

"Give them some room," he said sternly.

"What's going on?" Naminé gasped.

"Just hang on," Trace said. "It'll be over soon. They're just having a mild heart attack, so to speak."

"Wait, a _heart_ attack!?" Roxas cried. "But…_how_?"

"You'll see…"

Axel and Larxene collapsed to the floor and lay on their stomachs. Then they rose into the air, their backs arched and their eyes wide open. They glowed with a dim light that grew brighter and fuller with each passing second. All of a sudden, a heart appeared from within each of them, floated around the entrance hall, and went back into their chests. Three loud heartbeats were heard by all, and then Axel and Larxene floated gently back to ground, standing like nothing had ever happened.

Everyone except Trace was awestruck by this spectacle.

Sora broke the silence: "Did they just—"

"Yes, Sora. Axel and Larxene have just regained their hearts. They are now complete beings once again."

Vexen gasped. "This—this is…impossible! How…?"

"Roxas and me," Sora said.

"Because of the connection Sora and Roxas share," Trace explained, "and the connection between Roxas and Axel, our Flurry of Dancing Flames had moments where he felt like he had a heart. It's been like this since he first met Roxas.

"When Larxene came to see Sora on Destiny Islands, the power of his heart also struck a chord with her. She cried and expressed remorse for her actions at Castle Oblivion. This phenomenon was caused by the Illumina Heart tying their hearts together. It was planned that this would happen, same with Axel.'

"Fascinating," Vexen said. "I must report this to Marluxia!"

"No!" Sora cried. He ran to pin Vexen down but it was too late; Vexen had already disappeared in a Corridor.

"No!" Sora cried again. "Trace, why did you have to say all that stuff with _him_ in the room!?"

"Because, Sora, he would have figured it out for himself eventually, anyway. It wasn't my fault that Axel and Larxene got their hearts back at the worst possible moment."

"But you're the—"

"Yes, I'm aware of what I am, Sora. But I can't decide when people get their hearts back or else I'd just make it impossible to lose them. It's not that simple. Their hearts have been coming back for a while and that's why the Nobodies of the Organization all came back. Their hearts are still tied to me and in some way to each other, so they called out to their Nobodies and brought them back. We've already been through this.

"Even with this new information, Marluxia can't do a thing with it because the crystal has no power. I am the Illumina Heart right now and he does not have me in his custody, does he? All he'll be able to do is send someone to capture us, which was his plan anyway. Nothing has changed except he will now be more desperate than even because he has confirmation that we are the keys to getting his heart back."

"Still, they know more stuff now," Sora mumbled.

"And as of right now it is of no consequence. Put it out of your mind. What I'd like to know is what they intend to do with Aerith, and what projects Vexen's been working on. All the more reason to go to Castle Oblivion, wouldn't you say?"

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Axel said—the first time he'd spoken with a heart in his body since he could remember. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"You'll notice that you can still use all your Nobody powers," Trace told Axel and Larxene. "This means that your weapons are also intact and you can use the Corridors of Darkness as you wish. Just don't use them too often, especially since your hearts are very fragile right now. Welcome back to the light." He smiled at them and for once, they smiled back—genuinely.

* * *

"Where have you been?" Marluxia asked Vexen when he returned to Castle Oblivion.

"I sensed that Kuja was in Radiant Garden. I wondered why he hadn't reported back to me in a while," Vexen replied.

"Did you find out?"

"Yes, Marluxia. He sensed a great power from the heart of a woman named Aerith. He's kidnapped her and I'm assuming he's come back here with her?"

"If he plans on bringing her here he must have gotten sidetracked or had other plans to attend to first," Marluxia said.

"I thought he'd be back by now."

"Well, clearly he isn't. So what else did you do there?"

"Well, Kuja told me that the Slave Crown is functioning with perfection as well as at least one of the Malevoleeches. I am very pleased with these results." Vexen imitated Kuja's smugness, though not to the same effect.

"Naturally," said Marluxia. "Well, I am glad as well. So how is Terra doing? I'm starting to get a little concerned. She still has not returned from Deep Jungle."

"Call her back then," Vexen suggested. "You can do that, you know. You, Kuja, and I are the only ones authorised to control her with the Slave Crown and as such, she will only answer us three. But you can call her with your mind no matter where you are. Did I not tell you this before?"

"I'm afraid you neglected to mention that little tidbit. But now I am even more impressed. Tremendous work, Vexen."

Vexen was enjoying Marluxia's praise—despite there being no hearts to properly give or accept it. "If you call her, she will come."

"And here she is," Marluxia announced as Terra stepped out of a Corridor.

She was still carrying Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, who were no longer struggling and looked rather bored in their captivity.

"So, you've brought prisoners," Marluxia almost sang. "Good work. Here, put them in here," he said as he conjured a cage of de-thorned rose stems.

Terra silently did as she was told. She then stared blankly at Marluxia, awaiting her next set of orders.

"Terra, please go back to your room and stay there until I ask for you," Marluxia told her.

Once Terra was out of the room he turned to the Gullwings. "Who are you?" he asked them.

"We're the Gullwings," piped up Rikku, "and we—"

"Shut it," Paine whispered viciously to her as she covered her mouth.

"Please, let her finish," Marluxia said.

"We're treasure hunters and we're looking for the Illumina Heart because some jerk named Marluxia stole it and our friend, Tifa, is looking for it and some guy named Trace called her and asked her to find it and then she asked us to help and then we found a portal that took us to this jungle where we found a guy named Riku who was also looking for the Illumina Heart so we split up because he had to find his friend, Kairi, who was kidnapped after the Heart got stolen and then that blonde girl set the jungle of fire, scooped us up, then put out the fire and left and then she started flying around different worlds until she all of a sudden stopped flying and then came here," Rikku blurted out a mile a minute. She took a deep breath and then sighed.

"I see," was all Marluxia said. "And what worlds did she take you to?"

"There was one world with all these strange creatures, and one with all these flowers and walking cards, and then she took us to a world with a big desert and a cave that looked like a lion, and then she brought us hear," Rikku fired off.

"So you went to Wonderland, Agrabah, and another world that doesn't seem familiar to me. Vexen, do you recognise the first world she just described."

"Strange creatures…that could be any world." Vexen knelt down to Rikku's level. "What did that first world look like?"

"I dunno," Rikku said nervously. "She was flying really, really fast so it was all a blur."

"And neither of you caught a glimpse of anything significant?" Vexen asked Yuna and Paine.

"No," they said in unison.

"Interesting," Marluxia said. "Vexen, put them with the other prisoners. I'm going to have Lexaeus go to Radiant Garden to find this Tifa character. While he's at it he might as well gather Sora and Trace for me."

"Oh, there is so much that I haven't even told you yet!" Vexen cried in faux delight. "I have gathered some _very_ valuable information regarding the Illumina Heart."

"Really?" asked Marluxia. "Well, I would love to hear it. Show out new guests to their, ah, quarters while I go get Lexaeus and then you can tell us everything."

* * *

"You're joking! He left with members of the Organization? What was he _thinking_!?"


	15. Chapter 15: Snuffed Out

**_***Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. No material discussed only in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep or Kingdom Hearts: coded will play a role in this story. Please read at your own risk.***_**

**Chapter 15: Snuffed Out**

"You're joking! He left with members of the Organization? What was he _thinking_!?" Riku demanded.

"Who knows? Sora's never been the same since you and Kairi left," said Tidus.

"Maybe he's feeling reckless, like there's nothing left to lose," Selphie suggested. "He's devastated, Riku. His best friend AND the love of his life, gone overnight? What would you do?"

"I know how he feels," said Riku. "I've been alone for so long. And once we were reunited, I was called away, and Kairi had to come with me. I had to keep Sora here so he could be safe. But I didn't count on the Organization coming back! Sora should know better!"

"Calm down, man," Wakka said. "Maybe they're not so bad, ya? Sora was acting pretty buddy-buddy with them, it seemed. Maybe they're friends?"

"Sora would never be friends with them, not after everything they've done. I gotta go." And in a rage, Riku turned around, straight into a Corridor.

"The World That Never Was," he said to himself when he had reached his destination. "I never wanted to come back here. But as long as the Organization is still around, looks like I'll be seeing this place a lot more often. Unless I can stop them myself." And he took off toward the Nobodies' stronghold, The Castle That Never Was.

* * *

"A world with strange creatures… Yes, that could be any world at all," Vexen muttered to himself. At the moment, he was all by himself; Lexaeus had gone to Radiant Garden to capture Tifa, Marluxia was locked in his chamber, and Zexion was still searching for the Princesses of Heart, though he had returned to report that he was going to now check Aurora's world, Enchanted Dominion.

Finally admitting that he was stumped, Vexen went to further interrogate the Gullwings.

"Excuse me, ladies" he said with the charm of a greasy back-alley merchant, "but I was wondering if you could describe the creatures you saw in that first world you mentioned a while ago."

"They looked almost…human, I think," Yuna said, figuring it was better to tell the truth rather than suffer the consequences of doing otherwise.

"Hmm, did they remind you of Terra—the girl that captured you?"

"Sorta," Rikku replied. "I kinda got the same vibe, but it was also a bit different at the same time, ya know?"

"Interesting…" Vexen stared off into space as he pondered this new development. Then he looked at them, thanked them, and hurried out of the room and into his study.

_Terra, _he called in his mind, _please come to my study. I must speak with you._ A few seconds later, she appeared looking as vacant as ever.

"Do you know which worlds you took those girls to, Terra?" Vexen asked.

Terra stared at him but said nothing.

"Did you not hear me? I asked you if you knew which worlds you took those girls."

Again, Terra was silent as stone.

Vexen was getting frustrated. "Answer me when I ask you a question, you silly girl!"

Terra made no movements or sound.

"ANSWER ME, YOU STUPID WITCH!" Vexen roared. He lunged at her but Terra dodged him and flew to the other side of the room.

"Vexen!" It was Marluxia. "Compose yourself. You of all people should know that we cannot damage our puppet."

"Well this _puppet_ is not cooperating with me!" said Vexen, flustered. "She won't answer a single question I ask her!"

"Let me try. Terra, do you know where you took those girls?"

Terra stared at the wall and still said nothing at all.

"You see?" Vexen screeched. "Something's wrong with her! Something must have happened while she was out on her mission."

"Has she ever spoken before?" Marluxia questioned.

"Come to think of it…" Vexen's eyes widened and he did not finish his sentence.

Marluxia sighed. "How unfortunate. I thought that you would have made sure she could actually respond _verbally_. How am I supposed to have faith in you now, Vexen?"

"I-I can fix her!" Vexen stammered. "I can make her talk! I know it!"

"Perhaps she'll talk without the Slave Crown. Maybe it's robbing her of he speech capabilities as a side effect," offered Marluxia.

"That's out of the question! She'll rebel! We must keep the Crown on her at all times to keep her under our control. There's just no way around it."

"Well, then you better find out how to get around this issue. We've invested so much time into this project that we cannot afford any oversights. Do you understand?"

Vexen glared at Marluxia. "Yes."

"Good," Marluxia finished.

"I suppose I'll just have to do some more research for the time being," Vexen mumbled as Marluxia left the study. Then he walked over to Terra and smiled. "I'm so sorry for my little outburst," he told her. "I need you to do me a favour. Could you please go to Radiant Garden and catch up to Lexaeus? I need you to bring back the woman he's after, Tifa. Bring her to me and do _not_ let anybody know about _any_ of this. Not that you can, though, it seems."

Terra blinked and disappeared into a Dark Corridor.

* * *

As Riku approached the Castle, he wondered if perhaps the Organization had kidnapped Kairi. Then he thought about the girl who had kidnapped Yuna, Rikku, and Paine and wondered if maybe she was working for them. This made him realise that while he'd been travelling through different worlds looking for them, he'd actually forgotten about them at some point. He also realised that he'd ended up searching for Kairi instead, but wasn't sure for how long. Whatever had happened, he hoped that they were all in the Castle and safe.

He was greeted by Xaldin as soon as he opened the door. "Ah, Riku," he said. "What brings you here?"

"Xaldin! Outta my way!" Riku yelled.

"Manners, Riku. Imagine what Xemnas would say if he were here."

"Where is he? Where are Kairi and Sora?" Riku thundered.

"Not here. We've had no luck finding them, either," admitted Xaldin.

"What? But—then where could they be?"

"Don't ask me," said Xaldin.

"Well, what about the Illumina Heart? I know Marluxia took it! And I'm here to take it back. Now out of my way! Before I take you down myself!"

"Hang on a second," Xaldin said, holding up his hand. "_Marluxia_ has the Heart? _Very_ interesting… Xemnas will be pleased to learn of this."

"Wait, you mean he's not with you?" Riku asked.

"Of course not! Once a traitor, always a traitor!"

Riku wished he hadn't mentioned the Illumina Heart, but how was he supposed to know that Marluxia wasn't working with Xemnas? Now he had to eliminate Xaldin to stop the information from spreading to the Superior. He drew his Keyblade and stared at the Whirlwind Lancer.

"Have you said too much?" Xaldin asked him.

Riku answered with a jump and a slash, but Xaldin was too quick and evaded it easily. He then drew a purple lance and leaped back at Riku, who also escaped harm.

"Perhaps I should report to Xemnas right now!" Xaldin shouted, hoping to get a rise out of his opponent.

"Shut up!" Riku snapped back. He fired off a Dark Firaga spell, which Xaldin extinguished with a small gust of wind. Riku then sprinted toward him and went crazy slashing at him. Each blow was blocked by the violet spear but Riku was watching for an opening, a break in Xaldin's defences. Then he warped behind him and cut his back.

Xaldin growled in pain and turned around. He lunged at Riku and but only managed to graze his shoulder. A drop of blood from the shoulder fell to the floor and then Xaldin flew up into the air. He released his lance and the five more appeared, surrounding him and blowing in the wind he had created. He glared at Riku and all six pointed to him.

Riku leaped into the air again, attempting to knock the lances down, but then warped behind Xaldin again when the lances rushed at him. Xaldin was quick this time and flew away from Riku before he could suffer another wound.

A blast of cold air hit Riku in the hand and his Keyblade clattered to the floor. Riku landed on his feet and summoned it back to him just in time to avoid getting impaled by one of the lances.

"You can't win," said Xaldin. "There's just no way."

"If Sora can beat you, then I can!" Riku growled. Then he mustered a dark current of energy and threw it in Xaldin's direction. It wrapped itself around Xaldin's arms and the lances dropped, disappearing the moment they hit the ground. The dark energy continued to bind Xaldin until only his face wasn't obscured.

"What—what is this?" Xaldin choked. "What is…this power…?"

"_My_ power," Riku said. "I win." He snapped his fingers, and the dark energy turned into light and disintegrated Xaldin without as much as a sound. Riku walked over to where Xaldin had taken his final breath and said, "Hurry up and get here, Sora. And you'd better have a good explanation when you do."


	16. Chapter 16: Nightmare

**_***Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. No material discussed only in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep or Kingdom Hearts: coded will play a role in this story. Please read at your own risk.***_**

**Chapter 16: Nightmare**

_Riku stared longingly into Kairi's eyes, his passion for her slowly taking over his mind, his body. He leaned closer to her lips and held his breath._

_ Kairi never saw it coming. She had no idea what was happening until Riku's mouth connected with her own. She opened her eyes but her tears washed out her vision. For a moment she revelled in his embrace, yearning for a long overdue kiss. But she turned away almost as soon as she realised what was happening. She began to cry even more._

"I can't do this!" she sobbed.

"What can't you do?" Belle asked.

"Huh?" Kairi simply stared at her through tear-soaked eyes. A drop cascaded down her cheek; she quickly brushed it away and turned her back to her companions.

"I think I'm just going to take a nap," she said to them. "I'm tired."

But she would soon regret her decision...

_Sora was waiting for her when she disembarked at The World That Never Was. Kairi beamed incessantly and ran as fast as she could into his arms, but she fell right through him._

_ But she didn't hit the ground; she had fallen into Riku's arms instead._

_ !!_

_ "What's the matter, Kairi? I thought _he_ was the one you wanted to hold you, huh?"_

_ Kairi turned her head a bit to see Sora a few feet away, an expression of contempt etched so far across his face he was completely unrecognisable. But Kairi still knew it was him. And she knew that he knew._

_ "Sora..." was all she could say. She was too overcome with emotion to even keep her head up or her eyes open._

_ Riku set her down on the ground and stood in front of her. "I'm sorry, Sora, but she's made her choice. And it's not you. Tough luck."_

_ "Riku, stop it."_

_ "No, Riku, go on. Tell me more, _buddy_," said Sora. He was smirking, painting a mask to hide behind in his pain. Sora tended to get a little cocky every now and then. Unfortunately, this wasn't the right time for it._

_ Riku took a step forward. "I already told you everything. How I kissed Kairi and she held on. Yeah, _she held on_! You know what that means, Sora? It means she's finished with you. And she loved me all along. You were just a front."_

_ "Riku...please..." Kairi could still barely speak. Even though she knew Riku was lying, she couldn't stop him. Something deep inside her was holding her back and she sort of liked it. She sort of liked him..._

_ Sora stood still, silent as a statue. A statue that was slowly but surely cracking with each passing second. His eyes locked with Kairi's and she hoped that he's see that she really did love him, but then she frowned and his heart was shattered._

_ Sora cursed Riku and then looked at Kairi one last time. A single tear ran down his cheek and fell off his chin onto to ground. At that exact moment it began to rain. Then Sora fell backwards into a puddle, but he kept falling. He sank until the darkness obscured him_

_ Kairi suddenly burst to life and bulleted to the puddle but saw nothing. She stared deep into the black water, hoping that Sora would surface. Then she saw a pair of yellow eyes and she gasped._

_ A silhouette of Sora rose motionlessly from the puddle and hovered a few yards above it. Then, in a flash, he darted right through Kairi, and she collapsed. Then the silhouette sunk into the ground, moved right in front of Riku, rose up, and pulled his heart right out of his chest. Riku's body dropped right to the ground. Sora crushed the heart in his hands and evaporated into nothingness._

And then Kairi woke up clutching her chest. She was relieved the feel a pulse, but she was still crying profusely. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, but she dared not turn to face them.


	17. Chapter 17: Silent Earth

**_***Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II throughout this fan fiction. No material discussed only in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep or Kingdom Hearts: coded will play a role in this story. Please read at your own risk.***_**

**Chapter 17: Silent Earth**

"I can't believe that after all this time, we finally have hearts again," said Axel. He kept putting his hand to his chest so he could feel his pulse. He still couldn't form the words necessary to express his relief and joy whenever he felt it.

"It still seems too good to be true to me," Larxene commented. "But this must be the real deal."

"It is," Trace told her.

"I feel so happy for you two!" Naminé gushed. "It will give all the other Nobodies hope they one day they may get their hearts back, too."

"That wouldn't always be a good thing, though," said Sora.

"Yeah, what about the rest of the Organization? They'd take over everything if they got their hearts back," agreed Roxas.

"I know that, but we've also got good people on our side with hearts. I'm sure Axel and Larxene will grow more powerful, too."

"What are you saying, Naminé? That we should turn more Organization members over to our side and get their hearts back?" Axel asked.

"Well, no, but would that work?"

"Ya never know," said Axel.

"I just wanna know why I don't have a heart yet," said Demyx.

"It hasn't reached you yet," said Trace simply.

"Don't worry, it'll catch up to you soon," Sora reassured the Nobody.

"I guess..."

"Well, think of it this way: Naminé and I don't have hearts," Roxas said.

"Yeah, but you have your complete beings. All you have to do is merge with them and boom, you have hearts."

"But they're not our own, really, if you think about it," said Naminé.

"Technically, that's true, Demyx. Besides, Sora and Kairi are not complete unless they merge with Roxas and Naminé. So "complete beings" wouldn't even be the proper term," Trace explained.

"You know what I mean," Demyx muttered.

"Yes, I do. But the point still stands that Roxas and Naminé do not have their own hearts. Yes, they can become whole practically at will, but they have become individual entities in their own right. Each of them is even more of a Nobody than you are, if you want to put it in perspective. At least you'll be one whole entity once you've regained your heart."

"Well, when you put it that way... Sorry for whining." Demyx put his head down.

"Hey, don't feel bad," said Axel, patting Demyx on the shoulder.

"Yeah, we still have a job to do you know. Don't be such a baby," said Larxene.

"Come on, guys. Let's go," prompted Sora.

After a few minutes the ground started shaking violently.

"Lexaeus!" everyone shouted. They knew exactly who was capable of creating such a tremor.

Sure enough, Lexaeus jumped toward them from behind and snatched Naminé.

"Help!" Naminé cried.

"Let her go!" Roxas roared as he lunged toward the Silent Hero with his Keyblades drawn.

Lexaeus jumped out of the way. He threw Naminé to the ground and summoned his giant axe sword.

Roxas ran over to Naminé's side just as Sora blocked Lexaeus from striking him. Roxas scooped up Naminé and ran her over to a large maple tree, safe from harm. Then he bolted back to Lexaeus and struck him in the back with his Oblivion.

Lexaeus groaned and fell forward onto his knees. Then he shot right back up and summoned another earthquake. He ran off down the path toward Hollow Bastion but soon felt hotter than usual.

Axel whistled to Lexaeus who, upon turning around to face him, noticed that his coat was now of fire! Larxene laughed like a maniac as Lexaeus ran back and forth, trying to put out the flame. Demyx then doused him with water with one swift chord.

Lexaeus slipped all fell back down to the ground choking; he'd swallowed some of the water but it went down the wrong hole. He rolled over to see Larxene approaching him with slow, deliberate steps. Then, in one rapid gesture, she called down a giant bolt of lighting and Lexaeus ferociously convulsed as he was electrocuted.

When Lexaeus's body finally stopped moving, Trace stood above him with a look of indifference on his face. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

Lexaeus was silent, owning up to his title, it seemed.

Trace knelt down I front of his face and rolled him onto his back. "I asked you a question: what are you doing here?"

"I—I...I'm here to...kidnap..." Lexaeus struggled to say.

"Kidnap? Kidnap whom?" Trace asked.

"A woman...named—ugh!—Tifa."

"Tifa!? Why do you want Tifa!?" Sora blurted out.

"Mar...luxia...wants her...but I don't know why." Lexaeus said.

"Well, it doesn't look like you'll be collecting your quarry today," Trace said coolly. "Unfortunately for you, today is your final day." And he disintegrated Lexaeus, the Silent Hero, without another word.

Naminé walked back over to the group. "So now Tifa's in danger, too?" she asked, concerned.

"It would seem so," Trace replied.

"And when Lexaeus doesn't return, Marluxia will figure out that something's happened to him," said Axel. "Then he'll send someone else to fetch Tifa. And I don't think any of her friends are strong enough to handle the Organization."

"I wish we could protect her," Sora said, "but we _all_ have to go to Castle Oblivion."

"We must get there as soon as possible then, in order to prevent it from happening. But if you think about it, if she ends up getting kidnapped, she'll be taken to Castle Oblivion anyway, correct? So we'll just take her back with us once we've eradicated it."

"I guess that's a...fair point," said Sora.

"Then let's just be on our way. She'll be alright, trust me. Her heart is quite strong."

* * *

Tifa was sleeping peacefully now; her injuries weren't bothering her as much anymore, and she was positive that Aerith would be alright. She had a lot of faith in Sora and the others, and she knew that they wouldn't fail to rescue her.

Cloud has gone out to the marketplace for some more medicine; Merlin had left Radiant Garden altogether to speak with Master Yen Sid; Donald and Goofy were pacing the library; Yuffie was gathering herbs for Tifa; Cid was snoozing in a chair by Tifa's bed. Although everyone was doing different things, they all shared the same feeling of anxiety.

Cid didn't wake up when the door was busted in, but he did wake up when Tifa screamed for help. He leapt out of the chair and tried to grab Tifa from the woman holding her, but Tifa was out of reach.

The woman was quite cute in Cid's opinion; he had a thing for blondes. She rose up in the air until her head almost hit the ceiling. Then she disappeared into a black portal of sorts.

Cid had been transfixed by the kidnapper—until it clicked in his mind that she was a kidnapper. He then proceeded to shout very loudly and ran out of the room and out of the castle, hoping to catch up with Sora and the gang before they left.

Unfortunately, they had already gone. So Cid went and got his own Gummi Ship and took off to find them.

Eventually, he found their Gummi Ship and flew--full speed ahead of course—toward it. He flew right up beside them and waved frantically. They couldn't hear Cid and vice versa, so Cid gestured to them to follow him back to Radiant Garden for a moment.

"Tifa's been kidnapped by some woman!" Cid screamed once they all landed.

"We figured as much," replied Trace. "We already know where she's going and we were already headed there. Don't worry about her."

"Oh," Cid said.

"May we go now?" Trace asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Cid said, a little confused.

"Bye then."

Cid was still standing in place when Trace's Gummi Ship took off; he was still trying to register what had just happened. _Trace sounded frustrated with me_, he thought to himself,_ as if he'd already told me this would happen. But nobody ever told me. Unless...I was asleep. Dang it!_

Cid then went to the marketplace and told Cloud who, sure enough, had been warned by Trace directly. He said that he would have told Cid, but he had been sleeping too deeply to be woken up. Cid felt stupid and was very embarrassed. He then skulked back to Hollow Bastion to tell Donald and Goofy the situation.


	18. Chapter 18: Confrontations

**_***Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II throughout this fan fiction. No material discussed only in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep or Kingdom Hearts: coded will play a role in this story. Please read at your own risk.***_**

**Chapter 18: Confrontations**

Sora was ready for action when he arrived at Castle Oblivion with Roxas, Naminé, Axel, Larxene, Demyx, and Trace. He started to rush for the door when Trace put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

"Don't be so trigger-happy, Sora," Trace warned. "Marluxia will be expecting us and has most likely prepared himself accordingly. Just calm down and stick with the group."

"Okay, okay," Sora said impatiently.

"Just be cool. We'll stop Marluxia soon enough," said Roxas.

"That creep's gonna get what's coming to him," Larxene muttered sadistically.

"Well, let us be on our way to his demise then," Trace prompted.

Demyx hesitated as the others walked toward the castle's entranceway. "Uh, you guys..." he murmured cautiously.

"What is it _now_, Demyx," asked Axel. "Come on, he won't bite."

"I know he won't _bite_," Demyx snapped, "but what if he's gotten more powerful? That's what seems to be happening with the Organization. Plus there's still Vexen—"

"Vexen's not even an issue," Axel cut in. "He's all talk and no really effective action, as always. Don't worry about him."

"Well...what about Kuja and that Terra girl? They seem pretty tough," Demyx retorted.

"We can take 'em!" Sora burst out, punching the air.

"Sora's right, Demyx," Roxas agreed. "There are four of them and seven of us."

"Six if Naminé decides not to fight," said Axel.

"I don't think I'll be much help there," said Naminé.

"Don't worry, Naminé, you won't have to," said Sora.

"Okay, so six of us. They're still outnumbered," said Roxas.

Demyx knew that he had nothing else that he could say without being countered. He sighed and walked toward his companions, clearly scared of his wits. Sora gave him an encouraging pat on the back and gave him the thumbs up sign. Demyx smiled a bit and seemed to ease up a tad.

Vexen was waiting for them in the entrance hall of the castle. All weapons were drawn immediately, even Demyx's sitar. Naminé had unknowingly taken on a battle stance, despite her not possessing a weapon or any combat skills.

Vexen slowly walked down the stairs, smirking wider with each step downward towards his adversaries. "It's good to see you all again," he said in a smarmy voice. "We've been expecting you, you know. You should feel honoured that we've prepared so much for your arrival. Don't you feel special?"

"You're laying it on a bit thick, aren't you, Vexen?" Axel said coolly. "What sort of preparations are you talking about?"

"You'll see momentarily," said Vexen. "Of course, you must earn the right to see them. Namely by getting past me!" He readied his shield, Frozen Pride, and jumped the rest of the steps to the immaculately white floor.

Axel and Larxene immediately launched at head-on strike; Axel hurling his chakrams and Larxene her electric knives.

Vexen managed to avoid each attack, either by jumping out of the way or blocking them with his shield. Then he fired some icicles at his assailants, strike Larxene's left leg and making her stumble to the floor.

At this point, Demyx suddenly had a burst of courage surge through him and he sprinted over to Vexen and whacked him in the head with his sitar.

Vexen careened to the floor, blooded gushing from the wound. Demyx stumbled back a bit, surprised with how brave he'd just felt and how he'd just taken down Vexen in one hit. He and Axel ran to Larxene's side and noticed that her leg was now completely frozen. Axel thawed it out carefully and then went back to see Vexen's head wound.

Vexen tried to stand up but feel back down again, but not without trying to swipe at Axel with his shield. Axel jumped back and looked at Roxas, who was glued to the floor in shock over Demyx's attack, as were Sora, Trace, and Naminé.

Vexen then steeled himself and closed his eyes, as if he were concentrating very hard on something. The blood was still pouring from his head, but he didn't do anything to try and stop it. He just lay across the stairs, trying to focus on whatever it was he was trying to focus on.

Then, out of nowhere, the blonde-haired Terra appeared. She floated in the air, unmoving, unthinking. She just stared at Vexen, awaiting orders.

"Terra! Get them—ugh...NOW!" Vexen shrieked in agony. The pain was just too much for him. He managed to summon Corridor of Darkness and fell down the stairs through it.

Terra flew towards Naminé, who was the most vulnerable, but Roxas shoved her away with extreme force. He ran at her with his two Keyblades as the streaked across the hall, landed her feet on the way, and pushed herself back toward him. Roxas threw his Oathkeeper at her, but her magic deflected it and it clattered to the floor.

Roxas didn't bother to pick it up because Terra was headed straight for Naminé again. He bolted to Terra and slashed her with the Oblivion across her back.

Terra whipped around and grabbed Roxas's throat. Sora and Trace rushed to them; Sora pulling Roxas out of Terra's grip, Trace throwing Terra across the hall.

Terra got up and cast a water spell at Axel who was hit and let out a guttural sort of cry.

Larxene scooped up some water and tossed it up the air. Then she threw a lightning spell through the water at Terra. The hit was successful and Terra fell to the floor, writhing in agony just as Axel was. Then, Terra summoned a Corridor out of the blue and disappeared.

Naminé, Sora, Demyx, Trace, and Roxas ran to Axel and Larxene. Trace healed everyone's wounds and looked at the door leading to the next floor.

"Wow, that's the first time we've seen Terra fight!" Roxas said in excited awe.

"She's quite strong," Trace agreed. "Stronger than I had anticipated. She's not to be trifled with, that's for sure. And Demyx, that blow was simply astounding! I knew you had it in you to fight. I saw it in your heart."

"Too bad I don't have one," Demyx said, his head dropping.

Trace said nothing, but smiled.

Axel caught the smile. "It's coming, isn't it?" he asked.

Trace remained silent, still smiling.

Demyx dropped to the floor, clutching his chest. Then, as Axel and Larxene had done, he rose into the air. His heart appeared, circled around him, then went into his chest, a great light growing around him as it happened.

Three loud heartbeats later, Demyx slowly landed on his feet and beamed. "I HAVE A HEART!" he bellowed.

"Shh! Be quiet! Marluxia will hear you!" Sora panicked.

"Relax, man!" Demyx said in ecstasy. "I can take him. I can take anyone! I have a heart again!"

"Oh, Demyx, I'm so happy for you!" Naminé said. She then turned to Roxas and said, "Thank you for protecting me, Roxas. I...I really appreciate it."

Roxas laughed a feeble laugh and blushed slightly. "Well, I could let her just kill you like that. We need you, Naminé." Then, under his breath: "_I_ need you."

"So now what do we do?" asked Sora. "Vexen's probably talking to Marluxia right now."

"And your point?" Trace asked.

"Trace is right, kiddo," said Larxene. "We have to face him eventually anyway, so who cares if Vexen tells him we're here? Vexen and Terra are weakened now, so finishing them off won't be a problem. As for our Graceful Assassin, well, we can't handle him, too!"

"Exactly," said Trace.

"I guess you're right," admitted Sora. "Let's go then."

* * *

Riku waited in the entrance hall where he had eliminated Xaldin, still waiting for Sora to show up. He was getting rather impatient, especially since he was now all buddy-buddy with the Organization. He wondered if he was maybe with Marluxia and the Illumina Heart, and where they could be. Castle Oblivion then crossed his mind. After all, it had been Marluxia's base of operations before.

"Well, I guess now's as good a time as ever to finish off the Organization scum here," he said to himself with finality.

He crept through the Castle, hoping to keep a low profile until he could ambush a member.

After almost half and hour, he discovered a room. He tiptoed over to the door, where he could hear a conversation going on. He put his ear to the door, ready to disappear the instant they decided to leave the room.

"So, Xaldin's been terminated," Riku heard Xigbar's voice say.

"Indeed," said Saïx.

"Do we know who did him in?"

"Not yet, Xemnas just said that Xaldin is no more."

"But how does he know?" Xigbar asked.

"He can sense it," answered Saïx.

"If he can sense us then how come he can't find Marluxia?"

"He can only sense who's alive and who isn't. But we suspect that Marluxia may have returned to Castle Oblivion. We also believe that he is also after the Illumina Heart. We must acquire it before he does!"

Riku smirked at their ignorance. Marluxia already had the Illumina Heart of course, and Riku was glad that he was able to kill Xaldin before he went and reported the information to Xemnas. Riku's mistake was now covered, with no one except him the wiser.

Riku heard a chair being dragged across the room and the conversation continued.

"Do we have any leads yet, Saïx?" Xigbar asked.

"Nothing yet, unfortunately. But Xemnas had decided to remain productive during this dry spell. He has begun reviewing possible candidates for the Substitute Program."

"Oh, right. The Substitute Program. I forgot all about that. How's that coming along?"

"Splendidly," said Saïx. "We already have already found two very promising individuals. For now, it is good enough to proceed with the Project. Xemnas is debating whether or not to take them now or later on."

"What do you think, Saïx?"

"I say the sooner the better," said Saïx. "I have seen the candidates myself. They possess great strength already. They need only be cultivated and they will serve our designs most effectively."

"Sounds exciting. Any details you can disclose?"

"Not at the moment. We haven't gone far enough into the Observation Phase to be totally sure, but they show promise. That's all you need to know right now. That's really all we know to begin with, so you're really not that much in the dark as it is," explained Saïx.

"That's good to hear," said Xigbar. "Well, good luck with that. Let me know if you need anything."

"Of course," said Saïx.

Riku heard them get up and walk to the door. He his in the shadows on the other side of the room. Saïx and Xigbar came out of the room but didn't see him.

Just as they started going to the stairs, Xemnas appeared and beckoned for them to go back down into the hall.

"What is it, Lord Xemnas?" Saïx asked.

"There are intruders in the Dark City," Xemnas answered.

"Would you like me to take care of them?" Saïx asked, eager for some action.

"Not right now," said Xemnas. "Let them come closer to the Castle, at least so that we can identify them. Then we will act accordingly. In the meantime, I have some news."

"News, eh?" Xigbar said with great interest. "What sort of news?"

"News regarding the Substitute Program. I have decided to take the two candidates under my wing and welcome them into the Organization."

"So we're getting two new members?" asked Xigbar excitedly? "Very nice! It's been getting a little boring here with just the three of us, no offence."

"Have you decided on their names?" Saïx asked.

"I am still sorting them out, but the Welcoming Phase is underway. I shall collect them in a couple of days."

"This is good news indeed," said Saïx.

Xemnas nodded and motioned for Saïx and Xigbar to follow him upstairs. When they were gone, Riku disappeared into a Corridor of Darkness into the Dark City. There was quite a distance between him and the intruders, but he had done this on purpose. He suspected that Sora was one of the intruders, but wanted to put off confronting his best friend a little while longer. It was eating him inside enough already.

* * *

King Mickey was determined to find Sora and hoped that he had already made it to The World That Never Was to stop Xemnas from getting the Illumina Heart. He was also determined to not get recaptured, so he decided to keep his distance from the Castle until he had decided what to do.

Just then, Maleficent appeared in a flurry of green flames. She walked over to Mickey. "Fancy seeing you here, Your _Majesty_. What brings you to this world of Nobodies?"

"I could ask you the same question, Maleficent," Mickey responded. "But since you asked first, I'll tell ya. You see, after you left, I searched around the ruins of my castle and I found this." He pulled out a glowing shard, it could've been glass or crystal, but it wasn't very big. It shined with a golden light and felt warm to the touch.

"Go on," Maleficent prompted.

"Well, I thought that maybe it could be part of the Illumina Heart, but then I wondered why in the heck it would be in my castle. The Heart's never been there. Then I went to check the Cornerstone of Light to see if the shard had come from that, but the Cornerstone was whole."

"So you thought that perhaps you'd find your answer here?" Maleficent asked.

"Yes. I thought that maybe it was still connected to the Illumina Heart in some way and as I was holding it, I felt an impulse to come here. It was the strangest thing."

"Well," began Maleficent, "I also found a shard in my old castle. I also felt an impulse to come here."

"Do you think Sora's here?"

"He could be. He seems to be everywhere these days. I suppose we must work together once again. Those Nobody fools have probably tightened up their security and I don't think they'll be particularly glad to see us again."

"Good idea. But we should still be careful. They captured us before."

"Only because they caught us off guard," said Maleficent. "We're ready now."

They proceeded through the Dark City when Mickey noticed a large group of girls and women accompanied by a large beast. "The Princesses!" he squeaked.

They all turned around and gasped. There, in plain sight, was Mickey Mouse standing alongside the evil Maleficent. Aurora and Belle especially were shocked.

Mickey ran to them and leaped into Kairi's arms to hug her.

"Your Majesty!" Kairi cried. "What are you doing here?"

"And why are you with _her_?" Aurora demanded to know.

"Maleficent and I are working together for a little while," said Mickey, leaping back to the ground.

"You can't trust her," said Belle.

"I have to. If it weren't for us working together, we'd still be held captive by the Organization."

"You were captured?" asked the Beast. "How?"

"I'm afraid we don't have time to explain things right now," said Maleficent. Aurora and Belle braced themselves as she approached.

"Don't worry. I have no interest in any of you. So you can stop your growling," she added, turning to the Beast. "I am working with King Mickey in order to stop this wretched Organization. I have my reasons for wanting them gone, too, you know."

The Princesses were silent. Then, Aurora nodded her approval. "Perhaps we should go together then. We are all here to stop them as well."

The walk was long, but they finally reached Memory's Skyscraper, a large, open area of the Dark City with a giant skyscraper as its landmark, hence its name. There, they saw Riku sitting against the skyscraper. He looked up and gasped. Kairi and Mickey ran over to him. Kairi went to hug him but then hesitated. She remembered the kiss...and her nightmare...

Riku nodded in understanding and merely said, "Hi."

"Hi, Riku," Kairi said back.

Riku just came out with it: "Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I kissed you and mixed up all your feelings. I know you love Sora and I think he's the one for you. I just...couldn't hold it in anymore."

Kairi stared into his blue eyes, the same blue eyes that had started all this pain in the first place. And in them she saw sincerity and pain of his own. "I forgive you."

Riku smiled and hugged her. She didn't want him to let go and hugged him back.

After another minute or so, Riku finally let her go and smiled. "Sora's not here by the way. I know you want to see him. So do I."

"Where could he be?" Kairi asked.

"With members of the Organization, I know that much."

"What? Why?" Kairi was shocked.

"I don't know. That's just what Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie told me."

"You went back to the Islands?" asked Kairi.

"Yeah. I wanted to apologise to Sora and ask him to help me find you. But when I got there, he was gone. They described Axel and Larxene."

"I remember Axel. He kidnapped me before."

"Yeah. Well, I was hoping he'd show up here so I could talk to him. I've been waiting forever. But I did manage to get rid of Xaldin and learn some very important information."

"Like what?" Kairi asked. "And wait, you killed and Organization member?"

"Yeah," said Riku, "but the others don't know I'm here. But they do know that there are intruders. They're waiting for you to come to the Castle and then they'll 'act accordingly' as Xemnas said."

"So what's this information?" Mickey asked.

"Xemnas and Saïx are working on something called the 'Substitute Program' and basically what's they're going to do is rebuild the Organization with new recruits. I heard Saïx telling Xigbar about it. Only they and Xemnas are left in the Castle by the way."

"This can't happen!" Mickey said. "We can't let them rebuild the Organization!"

"I know," said Riku. "And then Xemnas said that he's going to be fetching the only two candidates they have so far very soon. He said he'd get them in a couple of days. But he didn't mention who they were or were they're from. That's all I know."

"Well it's very important information regardless," said Belle.

"What should we do?" asked Alice. "We can't let their ranks grow!"

"They'd have more people to find the Illumina Heart," Snow White pointed out. "That may be why they're going to do this.

"Especially since Riku just took down one of their founding members," said Kairi. "Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Hang on," said Mickey. "Let's think about this for a second. They know that there are intruders, but they don't know how many or who they are. They are heavily outnumbered, but also really strong. We have to be careful. We can't just rush in."

"Well what else can we do?" asked Maleficent.

"We could stay here," said Jasmine.

"What do you mean?" asked Cinderella. "They we wouldn't get anywhere at all."

"No, here's my plan: we stay here and lure them out of the Castle. They know that there are intruders and they're expecting us to go to them, right? So if we stay here, after a while they'll realise something's up. They'll have expected us to be there by then and they might come into the City to find out what happened. Then we'll ambush them here, where there's plenty of space to fight."

"That actually sounds like a good idea," said Riku. "I like it."

"Well then, it's settled," said Mickey. "Let's try it out!"

* * *

"Thank you so much, Marluxia!" Vexen rambled in elated gratitude. Marluxia had healed his head wound with some herbal remedies, something very much in his element: flowers.

"I still cannot believe that _Demyx_ of all Nobodies would do this to you. He has always been so spineless."

"Well, I don't know what came over him, but he's proven himself to be quite strong when he overcomes his fears! I'm just glad Terra's alive and well."

"Yes, that was a nasty gash on her back. I was watching the whole thing. Roxas did it."

"Of course. I knew it had to be either him or Sora. Not even Larxene's knives could have made a cut that big."

"Well, it is healed now, so let us not dwell on it any longer," Marluxia suggested. "I have sent her to her room for now, until we can formulate a better plan of attack. I just wish Kuja would come back soon. I am starting to get frustrated with him."

Just then, Kuja came back.

"Where have you been, Kuja?" Marluxia demanded.

"I have been searching for Terra's home world," Kuja replied.

"And were you successful?"

"Unfortunately no," Kuja solemnly admitted.

"You should report to me from now on before embarking on missions of your own!" Vexen spat.

"Calm down, Vexen," said Marluxia. "Kuja is still relatively new to our ranks. Cut him some slack, as they say."

Vexen scowled at Marluxia, then at Kuja.

"Kuja, while you were away, some interesting even transpired," Marluxia continued as if Vexen hadn't spoken out."

"Oh? Do tell," said Kuja with intrigue.

"Terra kidnapped Tifa. She is being held captive with Aerith. But we have quite a few visitors in the castle at the moment. They arrived not too long ago and gave Vexen and Terra a run for their money."

"I see," said Kuja. "It seems like I missed quite the show."

"Oh, you did," said Marluxia. "But now you get to star in the final act. Sora, Roxas, Naminé, Axel, Demyx, Larxene, and Trace are all here and on their way up to try and stop me. Go down and eliminate them all for me, please. I cannot be bothered with them right now."

"Of course, my Lord," Kuja said, bowing elegantly. "I shall be on my way in earnest."


	19. Chapter 19: One Last Favour

**_***Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II throughout this fan fiction. No material discussed only in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep or Kingdom Hearts: coded will play a role in this story. Please read at your own risk.***_**

**Chapter 19: One Last Favour**

"It's been hours," said Xigbar to Saïx and Xemnas. "Those intruders should've been here by now, don't you think?"

"It does seem peculiar," Saïx admitted.

"It is probably a strategy. They are most likely trying to lure us out of the Castle and into the Dark City," said Xemnas.

"Well, what should we do, call their bluff?" asked Xigbar.

"Hmph. You're starting to sound like Luxord," said Saïx. "But yes, I believe we should. What do you think, Lord Xemnas?"

"Do what you wish, Xigbar. It matters to me not. I must go make the necessary preparations for the Collection Phase."

"Oh, so you've decided to recruit them? Excellent," said Saïx.

"Who are they, anyway?" questioned Xigbar, still a bit confused about the Substitute Project.

"Their names are Justin and Sierra. Once they join the Organization they shall be called Xunjist and Xeisrar," explained Xemnas."

"_Zoon_-yeest and _Zayz_-rar..." said Xigbar, making sure he had nailed down the correct pronunciation.

"Yes, you are correct," said Xemnas. "You may go collect our, ahem, 'visitors' if you wish."

"I suppose I should go with him for backup," Saïx offered.

"As you wish, Saïx," said Xemnas, disappearing into a Corridor of Darkness.

The Dark City was large, but the path was fairly straightforward. Still, it took quite a bit of time until Xigbar and Saïx approached Memory's Skyscraper. As they did, they noticed a large group of people waiting for them.

"Hey, it's Riku!" exclaimed Xigbar.

Just then, Riku's Keyblade struck Xigbar's arm, prompting Saïx to draw his massive claymore.

"I've got you now!" Riku yelled to them.

"Not so fast!" Saïx replied. The moon was now free from the cover of the clouds. Saïx closed his eyes and smiled. He then began to glow with a faint light and his claymore shook violently. Then his eyes snapped open, wilder now, and he snatched the claymore in less than a second.

Riku jumped back, preparing to fight the now-berserk Luna Diviner. "Watch out, everyone!" he called back to his companions, who were now running to his side.

Saïx jumped back as well, claymore ready to strike down his opponents as painfully as possible.

Xigbar stopped rubbing his arm and summoned his two arrowguns, aiming both of them at Riku. He shot them both quicker than Riku could blink, but the bullets still missed their target—and everyone else behind him.

Riku soared into the air, his Keyblade crashing down upon Xigbar's head, knocking him out cold.

Saïx let out a primal roar and flew at Riku. "Come here!" he snarled.

Mickey and Maleficent charged forth, Mickey blocking Saïx's attack, Maleficent trapping him in a ring of emerald flames.

"Grr! Let me out this instant!" Saïx thundered.

Maleficent simply cackled. "How powerful is your Organization now?" she taunted.

The moon was suddenly obscured by clouds and Saïx returned to his normal, calmer state. He stood still as stone in the centre of the flames with a look of indifference.

Finally, he said, "What are you all doing here?"

"We're here to stop you," said Riku. "Where's Xemnas? He can't hide forever, not even behind his new recruits."

"What!? How did you know about that?" Saïx demanded fiercely. He looked as if he would go berserk again at a second's notice.

"I heard you and Xigbar talking about it," Riku answered coolly. "Then I heard Xemnas elaborate on the Substitute Project's status. He has two possible recruits already scouted out, right? Hmph. We'll take them down, too. He shouldn't even waste his time."

"So _you_ were the one who eliminate Xaldin," said Saïx. "I should have known it would have been either you or Sora. Speaking of our little Keyblade Master, where is he?"

"You tell me. He's the one working for you anyway!"

"Really? I had no idea he had changed teams, honestly. Unless he has sided with our—ahem—rouge faction. They must be terminated."

"You mean Marluxia, Axel, and Larxene, right?" Riku asked.

"So they _are_ alive," said Saïx thoughtfully. "Well, anything is possible, I suppose." He then smirked, said, "Thank you for the information," and disappeared through a Corridor.

Xigbar woke up, jumped at the sight of Riku, Mickey, and Maleficent, and fled as well.

Back at the Castle, Saïx conjured up a marble chair and sat down in it. When Xigbar caught up with him Saix examined his head. Luckily, Xigbar hadn't even gotten a concussion; he was just fine.

"What I miss?" asked Xigbar.

"It appears that Sora has joined forces with our renegades. Perhaps they seek the Illumina Heart as well," Saïx replied.

"Well, I hope they come here so we can finish 'em off, once and for all!" said Xigbar with gusto.

"Yes, so do I, Xigbar, so do I," said Saïx with a sinister grin.

* * *

After walking for hours, the floors and walls of Castle Oblivion became nothing more than a blanched blur to Sora and his party. Not a moment passed where either of them was not vigilant, not ready to defend each other.

Naminé was a bit uncomfortable coming back to the place where she had caused so much trouble for Sora, Kairi, Goofy, Donald, Jiminy, and Vexen's Riku Replica.

Sora noticed this and gave her a brief hug. "I'm not mad at you, Naminé...for what happened before, I mean."

"I know, but still..." Naminé trailed off.

Sora shushed her gently. "It's okay, really," he said, trying to console her.

Roxas put his arm around her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, making Naminé gasp then blush.

Sora wondered how two Nobodies could have the capacity to blush, let alone the desire to kiss someone. But then he remembered that Roxas and Naminé were very special Nobodies and he simply smiled at them.

After another half hour, they heard laughter. Then, out of nowhere, Sora was pushed to the ground and an oddly-dressed man appeared before them: Kuja.

"Hey! Watch it!" Sora yelled at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" Kuja mockingly apologised. "How rude of me! Ha ha!"

Sora got up and drew his Keyblade. "Apology _not_ accepted!" And he swiped wildly at Kuja.

Kuja flew up into the air and darted around the group, their weapons now drawn as well.

Axel, Larxene, and Demyx hurled spells at Kuja rapidly, but Kuja was still faster.

Kuja then began to cast spells of his own, spells of arcane darkness. He managed to hit Axel and Roxas before conjuring a large ball of dark energy and running straight into Trace with it.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" everyone cried in blood-curdling unison.

Kuja laughed hysterically, but fled when everyone except Trace and Naminé charged at him, hurling spells and swinging their weapons in an enraged frenzy.

Once Kuja was gone everyone ran over to Trace, who was now lying spread-eagled on the floor.

"Trace!" Sora cried.

"...Sora..." Trace said. "I...need you...to please do...me a...favour..."

"Anything, anything! What is it! Please don't die! You're the Illumina Heart! What will happen to the worlds and out hearts if you die, Trace!? WHAT!?"

"I'm not dying...far from it..." Trace said and his word relieved Sora to no end. "I am however...greatly weakened... Far more than...I already was..."

Sora stared at him, tears welling up in his eyes. He quickly brushed them away, remembering he wasn't alone. He looked up to see everyone kneeling around Trace, ready to cry themselves, even Roxas and Naminé.

"Sora..." Trace began again, "I need you to make a...very important promise...ugh! Protect the Heart...at all costs...no matter what you feel is right...just trust me and listen to what I say... And in return...I'll use my powers...to seal Kingdom Hearts from Xemnas...and Marluxia...and all their compatriots. Do you understand? Do exactly as I say and protect me...protect the Heart."

"I promise I will, Trace. I'll do anything to protect everyone's hearts! Anything!"

"Good. I knew the Keyblade was right to choose you. I feel your heart very strongly. It is more powerful than anyone, including you, realises. Guard it forever."

"I will," Sora vowed.

"Why don't we...shake on it," Trace suggested, holding out his hand to Sora.

Sora grasped it firmly, confidently, determinedly. He and Trace shook hands and a red light emanated from Trace's hand into Sora's.

Sora gasped. "What just happened?"

"We've just made a covenant with each other. And as part of that covenant I have given you some of my power to fend off Vexen, Marluxia, and Kuja."

"But what about Terra?" asked Naminé.

"She is not a true threat to you," said Trace.

"What do you mean?" asked Roxas.

"She is being manipulated by them. I can sense it in her heart. Her actions are not her own. Did you not see that metal piece of headgear she was wearing? I'm sure that's what they are using to control her. If we can destroy it, maybe we can turn her against Marluxia and the others. She will make an incredibly powerful ally."

"Well, then let's go save her!" Sora cried, jumping up and running for the stairs to the next floor.

* * *

"What is this shard? What is this warmth radiating from it?" Zexion asked himself. He'd had absolutely no success in his search for the Princesses of Heart. But while searching Maleficent's castle in the Enchanted Dominion, he'd found a mysterious shard than glowing with a warm, golden light.

He'd combed the world once more but found no more shards. He was ready to return to Castle Oblivion to report to Marluxia when he saw a Corridor of Darkness in the middle of the forest.

On the other side were the Destiny Islands. Wondering who had been in Enchanted Dominion and how he hadn't noticed them, he walked across the beach, looking this way and that.

He then saw a strange glow coming from the Secret Place. Zexion ran into the tunnel and found another shard just like the one he already had.

He picked it up and then heard a voice. "So, you're after the Illumina Heart, too? I'm positive that shard is part of it."

Zexion turned around and saw a boy no older than seventeen dressed in an Organization coat—only this coat was white instead of black.

"I am searching for the Heart as well," the boy said.

"This shard is not part of it," Zexion told him. "I have seen the Illumina Heart and it is not broken at all."

"Oh. But then what could that shard be from?" the boy asked.

"I cannot say for sure myself," said Zexion. "But I found one in another world." He took out the shard he'd found in Enchanted Dominion and then became shocked at how he'd just given so much information to a total stranger without so much as a second thought.

He stepped back and pocketed the shards. Then he said to the boy, "May I please leave? I have other matters to attend to."

"Of course, Zexion," the boy said and Zexion stopped dead in his tracks.

"H-how do you know my name?"

"I know everything about Organization XIII. I've been researching the Keyblade Master and as a result I have learned all about you as well," the boy answered.

"Who _are_ you?" asked Zexion, getting scared now.

"My name is of no importance. The fewer people who know me, the better. Xemnas already wants me to join him."

* * *

"Riku," Kairi said, "maybe Sora isn't coming here. What if we're just wasting time?"

"Kairi, don't think like that," Riku responded. He was positive that Sora would show up even though he had no real evidence in the first place to even hint at it. He thought for a moment then looked at Kairi again. "Maybe you're right," he finally admitted.

"I just mean that maybe he's somewhere else, doing other things. If he's with Axel and Larxene, there must be a good reason."

"But why would he join up with them? It just doesn't make any sense to me. They're the bad guys!"

"But didn't Saïx call them their 'rogue faction'?" asked Belle. "Maybe they've defected from the Organization."

"But what about Marluxia?" Riku asked. "He's still bad even if he's working against Xemnas."

"What if Axel and Larxene aren't working with him?" Aurora challenged. "Then what? Sora could be working with good people after all. You don't have enough concrete evidence to explain Sora's motives and allegiances. But regardless of all that, you should trust in your best friend. He knows the difference between good and evil and he wouldn't get mixed up with evil people. He'd defeat them in a heartbeat."

"Exactly," Kairi agreed. "Look, I trust Sora with all my heart. Why can't you?"

"I'm just not too happy with the fact that he took off with Organization members without so much as a message to leave behind. And after all that they've done, it's hard to trust them."

"But, Riku, we left him without a word, too," Kairi pointed out.

Riku said nothing. He simply stared at the ground. Kairi was right of course. They had left Sora by himself to search for the Illumina Heart and never left any sort of message. He looked at Kairi at said, "Good point."

"So do you trust him?" Kairi asked.

"You know what, I do," Riku decided. "I really do trust Sora."

Kairi smiled. "Good. Now, let's finish off the Organization members here and then we can go find Sora!"

"It's too dangerous," said Riku. "We can't afford to lose any of the Princesses of Heart. Mickey, Maleficent, and I will go on ahead. Beast, you stay here and guard the Princesses."

"I don't think so," said Jasmine.

"We didn't come all this way just to stand here and do nothing while you three risk your lives," piped up Alice.

"Exactly. We're in this together now, so we're going to fight together. We're a lot stronger than you think," said Snow White.

"Riku, face it—you can't fight all your battles on your own. Sometimes you need others to fight by your side. The Organization is way too powerful for just you. We're going," said Kairi with finality.

Riku sighed. He didn't want anybody to get hurt, especially Kairi. He may have accepted that she truly loved Sora, but that didn't stop him from wanting to protect her always. But Kairi was too headstrong to play the damsel in distress and sit around while her best friend was in danger. So he nodded his head and said, "Fine. You're just full of good points today, aren't you?" He laughed, and so did Kairi.


	20. Chapter 20: Determination

**_***Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II throughout this fan fiction. No material discussed only in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep or Kingdom Hearts: coded will play a role in this story. Please read at your own risk.***_**

**Chapter 20: Determination**

With each floor Sora and his party traversed, their resolve burned more and more ardently. The only emotion shaped on each of their faces was determination and when they reached the tenth floor, they all let out forceful sighs.

Sora was fixated on the staircase that stood proudly at the other end of the floor. "I bet you anything that Marluxia's on the thirteenth floor just waiting for us," he said roughly, violating his usually upbeat demeanour.

Nobody said anything. They just kept walking behind Sora.

On the eleventh floor they noticed a door that would have been camouflaged on the west fall had it not been slightly ajar. The shadow creeping from within the room was a welcome beacon in the blinding whiteness of the castle.

They were all surprised to find so many prisoners, including Tifa and Aerith. Sora recognised the others as well: Yuna, Rikku, and Paine: the Gullwings; Dr. Finklestein from Halloween Town; even the Queen of Hearts from Wonderland.

Sora ran up to them and asked them, with great shock and incredulity, how they had ended up in Castle Oblivion (except for Tifa and Aerith, whose reasons were already known).

Rikku spoke up first: "Well, we were in the Deep Jungle because we found a funny-looking portal in Hollow Bastion so we end through it. Then we found a guy whose name is also Riku but with one _K_ instead of two. Then he said that he was looking for the Illumina Heart and some girl named Kairi so we split up. We went to look for clues leading the Heart because it got stolen, and Riku with one _K_ went to go find Kairi."

Rikku panted after her rant and Yuna took over: "We couldn't find any clues in the cave where the Illumina Heart was stolen, so we went back to help Riku. But the camp was on fire when we came back and then we got captured by this woman with blonde hair. She put out the fire and then disappeared with us."

Paine then finished the story: "She started flying around to all these different worlds. The first one was unknown to everyone, even Vexen. It was full of strange creatures that seemed somewhat human, but seemed more powerful. But she was flying so fast we were only there about a minute before she took us to another world. This one was full of flowers and talking cards. The third world was a giant desert with a cave shaped like a lion. Then she finally brought us here and we were questioned by Vexen. Big Mouth over here—" she lightly punched Rikku in the shoulder—"told him everything. Then he threw us in here."

"You forgot something," said Rikku. "You forgot to mention that I let slip to Vexen that Trace sent Tifa to find the Illumina Heart and she hired us to help her."

Everyone looked at Trace, then Tifa.

"I suppose I should have told you this before," said Trace.

Tifa nodded in shame.

"Why didn't either of you," asked Sora.

"To be honest, it slipped my mind. Since I'd told you that Marluxia had stolen the crystal and that I was now the embodiment of the Illumina Heart, I just...forgot," Trace explained.

Tifa looked at Trace, her eyes wide with surprise. "You mean..._you_ were the Illumina Heart all along? Why didn't you tell _me_? You had me looking for..._you_?"

"No, I had you searching for the crystal, which was the Illumina Heart until it started losing its power and Xemnas and Marluxia started searching for it. It created me and left the crystal. I, Trace, am now its host."

"Ah, that explains it," said Tifa. "And Sora, the reason I didn't tell you was because I wasn't sure Trace wanted me to. He said that he had to find you and keep you safe, so I thought that if I told you what I was doing, you'd be in more danger. I thought that when Trace found you he would fill you in when it was safe to do so. I didn't mean any harm."

"I know you didn't," said Sora. "But it doesn't matter anymore now that everyone is all on the same page. But what about you, Doctor? How did you get here?"

"That cretin, Vexen, froze Sally and Jack, even Zero and brought me here! I've been doing some very insightful research on hearts recently and apparently even he and Marluxia were aware of genius. Can't say I'm not surprised, but when I told them I hadn't even heard of this Illumina Heart, they locked me in here!" Dr. Finklestein replied.

"Were you lying to them?" Axel asked.

"Of course not! I'm an honest person! How dare you question my integrity! I'm a scientist, for screaming out loud!"

Sora ignored his ranting and turned to the Queen of Hearts. "And how did you get here? Did Vexen capture you, too?"

"No, some other scholarly fellow brought me here. The nerve! He obscured my entire court in a dark mist and then ran off with me! Well, next time I see him it will be off with his _head_, the scoundrel!"

"'Another scholarly fellow'?" Axel repeated.

"Zexion," Sora's party said together.

"So Marluxia's group is one member stronger than we though," said Trace.

"He's most likely not here," said Larxene. "He always was a little snake in the grass, but this snake always prowled deep in the backyard, away from all the dirty work. He's probably in another world doing recon or some other useless job. He's just too much of a wimp to come out and fight."

"Yeah, that's true, Larxene," Axel began, "but remember that Zexion's very cunning and he always can manipulate things in his favour from behind the scenes. He extremely dangerous in that regard."

"I suppose you're right about that, but right now our targets are Marluxia, Vexen, and Kuja. We'll deal with little Zexy later."

Sora nodded in agreement with both Axel and Larxene and then walked over to where Tifa was sitting. Aerith was sitting beside her; she hadn't said a single word yet. "Aerith, are you okay?" Sora asked her, reaching out his hand.

Aerith remained silent. She didn't even seem to acknowledge Sora at all.

Tifa stood up. "She's been like that since I got here. I don't know what's wrong with her. But I know she hasn't lost her heart or anything. I checked her pulse."

Sora looked scared as he watched Aerith sitting in her chair like a wax figure. Tifa sat back down and frowned. "I'm scared, too," she said.

"Well, it's not safe for any of you here," Trace told the prisoners. He then conjured up three Corridors of Darkness: one to Radiant Garden, one to Wonderland, and one to Halloween Town. He directed everything to the right Corridor and bid farewell to them. They expressed their gratitude and escaped from Castle Oblivion.

Sora was still despondent after seeing Aerith looking like such a zombie. After a few minutes he raised his head, put on a forced smile for his companions, and walked out without so much as a "Let's go!" like he normally said.

* * *

"Hang on a second," said Riku to his comrades. "I'll go in first and check things out. I'll signal you when it's safe to come in."

But everybody rushed into the castle anyways because Saïx was all healed up and ready to fight; he swung at Riku with his claymore, sending him right into the wall.

"Riku!" Kairi cried before she drew her own Keyblade. She lunged at Saïx but wasn't quick enough to land a hit. She chased after him, casting spells of light at him along the way.

Mickey and the Beast tried to get Saïx from the other side and managed to initiate a pincer attack with Kairi. Saïx back into a corner and swung wildly, knocking the Beast back, but missing Kairi and Mickey.

"This ends here!" Mickey declared as his Keyblade created a gash in Saïx's stomach. Kairi made the gash bigger and then jumped back.

The other Princesses ran to Kairi's side and together the seven of them created a giant sword of golden light. It came crashing down on Saïx, who now knelt on the floor, and destroyed him in a flash.

Everybody ran over to Riku and Kairi healed his wounds with more light. She looked deep into his eyes, trying to get them to refocus.

Riku blinked a few times and exhaled in relief when he saw no sign of the Luna Diviner. "You killed him?" he asked Kairi.

"We all did," she said, gesturing to the rest of the Princesses. "See? You need us after all."

"Don't start," Riku laughed. "You can save the I-told-you-so's for later, when Xemnas is finished. Now, let's go find Xigbar. He's probably healed up, too, but still weak like Saïx was. Xemnas probably left to go collect his new recruits. But we'll be waiting. And we'll be ready."

* * *

Vexen and Kuja stood outside Terra's room. Vexen was practically bouncing up and down with the news he possessed.

"Out with it, Vexen!" Kuja finally burst out.

"Respect, Kuja," Vexen warned. "Marluxia has made some astounding progress that bodes very well for our plans."

"What sort of progress do you mean?" Kuja asked, his impatience now replaced with fascination.

"He has found Terra's world. And he told me to tell you to go there and do some reconnaissance. Be careful, though."

"Why?"

"Because we don't know how powerful those creatures are. Stay on your guard, Kuja."

"I'm sure I'll be fine," said Kuja. "So how is Terra? Is she hurt?"

"Not at all," said Vexen. "But we do need to be more careful with her. We can't have the Slave Crown getting broken now, can we?"

"Not unless you want her to rebel, anyway," said Kuja sarcastically.

Vexen scowled. "Of course I don't, you fool! I am really not in the mood for your sarcasm right now, Kuja. Just go talk to Marluxia. He'll take you to Terra's world."

"What exactly am I supposed to be looking for on this mission?" Kuja asked.

"Marluxia and I want you to study the creatures a bit and see if you can learn anything about Terra's origins, where her strength comes from, and how she ended up here," said Vexen.

"I see. Well then I be thee adieu for now."

"Now then," said Vexen to himself once Kuja had left, "time to check on my star pupil." The room echoed with icy, maniacal laughter.

* * *

There were no sounds for a moment except the subtle _drip, drip, drip_ echoing from the ceiling of the cave to the ground. Zexion stared at the strange boy in the white Organization coat. The boy who claimed to know all about the Organization and whom Xemnas apparently wanting to take under his wing.

The boy and Zexion had spent at least an hour—maybe more—discussing the Organization's past and present. The boy proved that he really did know everything about the Organization, including the fourteenth member, Xion. Zexion vaguely recalled this fourteenth member although according to the boy, she was wiped from the memories of everyone who'd ever known her, possibly even Xemnas himself, though the boy said he doubted it.

The boy also said that he believed that the reason why Zexion remembered Xion slightly was because he had been terminated before she disappeared. When Zexion asked how she disappeared, however, the boy refused to disclose the truth. He said it didn't concern him, only Sora and Roxas. He also said that Xion had no part in the events currently transpiring so there was little point in even trying to remember her. She had been nothing more than a puppet, anyway, as sad as the boy thought it was.

"But enough about the Organization XIII of old," the boy had said. "What I want to know is what's going on now. How did everybody just...return?"

"It's strange," Zexion had replied, "but I don't really know. I was in a limbo of sorts, I suppose...just drifting aimlessly, unconsciously. But I always felt like something was trying to pull me back, trying to call me, perhaps."

"Interesting. Maybe it was your heart trying to call you and it brought you back so it could find you. Or maybe so you could find it."

"I never thought about that before," Zexion had admitted. "But it does make sense, doesn't it?"

"That must have happened to everyone else as well," the boy said, breaking the present silence. "But I think there's more to it than your heart merely calling you."

"What are you thinking?" asked Zexion.

"Have you heard of the Illumina Heart?" asked the boy.

"Heard of it? Marluxia has it!" Zexion answered.

"WHAT!? Impossible! But that may prove my theory..."

"Go on," Zexion pressed.

"Well, the Illumina Heart is supposed to tie all hearts together and create a path for them to follow to Kingdom Hearts. That path is light. But I believe that when a person loses his or her heart, if it is still alive, it calls out to that person, trying to find its home. So the Illumina Heart must also try to guide the heart to that person, make a stronger path. And if the heart cannot find its owner or vice versa, it moves on to Kingdom Hearts.

"Marluxia must believe this as well, or else why would he want the Illumina Heart? If he has it and can unlock its power, theoretically he could get his heart back. And you could get yours back, too."

"That's exactly his plan as a matter of fact," confirmed Zexion. "And when he found Vexen, Lexaeus, and I, he used that reasoning to coerce us into joining him."

"Then we must go to Castle Oblivion and take it back! Its power must not fall into his hands and he must not get his heart back! Who knows what kind of power he'll gain if he becomes whole again?"

"He's already much more powerful than when Sora defeated him previously," Zexion said with a hint of despair. "This entire time he's been threatening to not only refuse to give us our hearts when he gets his, but that he'd also kill us personally. And I'm too afraid to go back, truly I am. Especially since I've been gone for so long."

"You're afraid he thinks you've gone AWOL?" the boy asked, concerned.

"Exactly. But...maybe I have gone AWOL. And maybe that's sort of a good thing. There are many worlds and he doesn't have time to go to them all to search for me. And I can hold my own in a fight if I have too, anyway," Zexion said with increasing rebelliousness.

"So join forces with me and don't go back," suggested the boy. "And I won't give in to Xemnas's promises of powers and purpose beyond my wildest fantasies."

"Why does Xemnas want you? How did he even find you, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I'm originally from Twilight Town," the boy began to explain. "One day, I encountered a Dusk and I destroyed it. I had nothing on me except my clarinet, so I bashed the Dusk to death with it. I became a totally different person when it attacked me.

"Apparently another Dusk had seen me and reported the incident to Xemnas, whom I had learned about while researching Sora and the Keyblade. My research led me to learning about Ansem the Wise, King Mickey, the Illumina Heart, and Organization XIII as well. When Xemnas came he told me about the Dusk's report and asked me all sorts of questions about how I even knew what a Dusk was. I explained what I knew about Nobodies and the Organization and then he offered for me to join.

"Of course, I refused his offer, but he said that I would make a very powerful Nobody and would be given a true purpose rather than being just an ordinary person living in a quiet old town. I'll admit that I was tempted, so I merely said that I'd consider it. He said he'd be back very soon."

"And you decided not to join," Zexion deduced.

"That's right. But I knew that I was no longer safe in Twilight Town because of my decision so I left. I looked into my heart and pulled out the darkness in it. See, I've always been very in tune with myself, so accessing the light and darkness in my heart is simple. I made a Corridor of Darkness and came here, hoping to join up with Sora. But he isn't here. But I did find a strange shard by a paopu tree. I wondered if it was a piece of the Illumina Heart and that something terrible had happened. I just came to this cave on a whim, thinking there would be another one here and, sure enough, there was. And you were with it."

"Indeed. Now tell me, how come you are wearing an Organization coat? And why is it white?"

"Well, since the Organization wear black coats, I decided that by making an exact replica aside from using white material, I would be mocking it or rejecting it in a way. I try to be symbolic and I thought that the white coat would represent the fact that even if I became a Nobody, even a very powerful one like Xemnas said I would, I would never join the Organization and would instead use my powers to keep Kingdom Hearts and the Illumina Heart safe. I'd keep all hearts safe from darkness, another meaning of the white coat. It represents my overall dedication to the light although I sometimes must use darkness to succeed. But I always use it for good, never evil."

"Wow, that is quite a powerful statement you're making," said Zexion in astonishment. "I have a lot of respect for you. I think you're right. Marluxia must not gain the Illumina Heart's power. Since he has the Heart itself right now, it's only a matter of time, too. We must hurry."

"Yes, but I think we should search the rest of the islands for more shards. They seem to hold some sort of power. They may be very important in the future. And then we can go to Castle Oblivion."

Zexion nodded in agreement and followed the boy out of the Secret Place.

"By the way," the boy added, "since we're now allies I should tell you my name. It's Justin."

"You mean 'Xunjist'," said Xemnas with an angry, menacing snarl.


	21. Chapter 21: Saviour

**_***Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II throughout this fan fiction. No material discussed only in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep or Kingdom Hearts: coded will play a role in this story. Please read at your own risk.***_**

**Chapter 21: Saviour**

"Xemnas!" cried Justin and Zexion together.

"You do not look to happy to see me," Xemnas replied curtly.

"How did you find me?" Justin asked with a level voice.

"I had a feeling that your interest in the Keyblade Master would lead you to his home eventually, but I did not expect to find one of my former subordinates in your company."

Zexion glared at Xemnas but said nothing.

"I've made my decision, Xemnas," said Justin, breaking the silence.

"I can see that. You have clearly chosen to ignore the power and purpose that could be yours. It is very simple and—ahem—relatively painless to become one of us, Justin. And Xunjist does sound quite pleasant, in my humble opinion."

Zexion scoffed at the notion of Xemnas being "humble."

"May I help you?" Xemnas asked him.

"I'm quite all right, thank you," Zexion replied.

"This _power_ you speak of is very tempting, I won't deny that," Justin said. "But I've seen what it has done to these people—Organization XIII. Most of them have become corrupt puppets that you manipulate in order to satisfy your own dastardly designs. I have no desire to become a pawn and sacrifice my freedom—or my heart for that matter."

"You seem quite sure of yourself," Xemnas said with mock admiration.

"I am."

"Will you be so sure once I have eliminated everyone you hold dear in that heart of yours?"

Justin gaped at Xemnas; it felt as if countless weights had pinned his stomach down rather painfully.

Xemnas smiled triumphantly. "Do we have a deal? You join me and not only will I forgive your initial qualms and give you great power, but I will also spare your beloved Twilight Town." He extended his hand toward the dumbstruck human before him.

"I...I..." Justin couldn't find the right words; he felt tongue-tied. Xemnas had gotten him. He had no choice.

He turned his back to Xemnas. "Zexion, I need you to go. This is it for me. There's just no other way."

"But...I don't understand," said Zexion.

"Look at me," said Justin. "Just get out of here. I need to do this."

Zexion looked at Justin for a moment then said: "Fine. I understand what's going on."

Justin waited until Zexion had vanished through a Dark Corridor before turning back to face Xemnas. "I guess this has to come to pass, doesn't it?"

"You know the alternative," said Xemnas.

"But I'm not ready yet. Can't you give me a little time to prepare? You're giving me a choice to become a Nobody—more or less. At least have the decency to allow me to put my affairs in order."

"Affairs? What sort of affairs would a boy as young as you need to put in order? I think you are just stalling."

"So what if I am? I'm not yet prepared to relinquish my heart and join the Organization, Xemnas. And I won't let you coerce me into going into this until I'm ready. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

"I see. Well, Justin, you will be putting me greatly behind schedule, but if this is the only way to recruit you...fine."

"Thank you, Xemnas."

"I will give you a week to prepare yourself. I think that is quite generous."

"I do as well. I really appreciate it."

"Then do not waste your time. Once the week is up you will become one of us, no excuses or further extensions."

Justin stood among the shadows of the Secret Place and watched Xemnas leave. Then he sighed and sat down. He'd just bought himself much more time than he'd hoped.

* * *

"RIKU! WATCH OUT!"

A deafening blow to the stomach; a _crunch_ as Riku collided with the wall.

Amidst the piercing cries of Kairi and the other Princesses of Heart, Saïx strutted to Riku's limp, crumpled body and laughed.

"AAAARAHHGGGGGHHHHHHH!"

Kairi rushed over to Saïx, Keyblade in hand, and slashed him wildly, psychotically. The Beast grabbed her and dragged her over to the Princesses, who immediately took hold of her, trying to calm her down.

Saïx let out a primal roar and lunged toward Kairi. The Beast lunged back at him, effectively stopping him in his tracks. He scratched Saïx's face fiercely.

Saïx shoved the Beast off him and licked the blood streaming from his scratch wounds. He smirked and stood up slowly. "You're a violent little girl, aren't you?" he said almost seductively. He put a finger to his eyes, where the blood was now obscuring his vision, and then put it in his mouth. He sighed in ecstasy.

Kairi's rage had since turned to fear as she watched this masochistic display. "What's wrong with you!?" she had the courage to ask.

"I've learned to embrace pain, my dear," Saïx answered, licking his lips as the blood flowed between them. "It helps ease the suffering. Of course, not having a heart helps a little as well."

Kairi was horrified by how insane this man was. She switched her focus to Riku who still was not moving. On top of that, he was now bleeding from several spots: his arms, his back, his head.

The Beast threw himself back on top of Saïx as Kairi made a run for her friend. With a swift punch to the head Saïx fell silent, unconscious.

Kairi's allies ran to hers and Riku's sides. Aurora gently moved Riku onto his side so that the damage could be assessed. The Beast came over as well to hold Kairi and comfort her.

"Is he... Oh, Riku!" Kairi burst into tears.

Suddenly, Riku stirred, then groaned.

Kairi shot upright. "Riku!"

"Ugh! Kairi..." Riku grimaced as he tried to turn his head to face her.

"Don't move! You're hurt!"

"Yeah—ugh! I can see that."

"I can feel quite a few broken bones, but I don't think any of your injuries are life-threatening," said Belle to Riku.

"That's good to know. But where's Xemnas? What happened to Saïx?"

"I knocked Saïx out," said the Beast, "but Xemnas doesn't seem to be here."

"But we've searched the entire castle! Where did Xemnas go?"

"Collecting his 'recruits' most likely," said Alice.

"We might be better off leaving for right now," said Jasmine to the entire group. "Riku's hurt too badly to fight and he's our strongest ally."

"Not to mention Mickey and Maleficent aren't here either," Cinderella pointed out.

"That's right, I forgot!" said Snow White. "Yes, they said they were going to talk to Master Yen Sid, didn't they?"

"Ugh, yeah," Riku moaned. "But we gotta stop Xemnas!"

"But we can't right now, Riku, that's the point!" said Kairi.

"Ugh, fine. Beast, could you at least kill Saïx for me, please? Then I won't feel like this was all just a waste of time."

"Uh, Riku? Saïx is gone!" Aurora gasped.

"WHAT!?" Riku tried to turn around to look but fell into his back and let out a bloodcurdling scream of agony.

Kairi got up and looked around the room. There was no sign of Saïx.

Until she caught a glimpse of a black coat in the air.

There was a hooded figure in an Organization coat holding Saïx's insentient body delicately floating just inches under the ceiling.

"So, you're Kairi, aren't you?" the figure said. It was a girl's voice, completely unfamiliar to everybody. "And those are the Princesses of Heart, correct? Oh, and Riku! Yes, Lord Xemnas has told me much about all of you. He sends his regards and says that he regrets not being able to stay and chat. Could you please accept his apologies?"

No one said a word; they merely stared at the girl.

"Speechless, are we?" she scoffed. "Or do you want to accept my master's apology in person!?"

The hooded girl swiped Kairi and disappeared so quickly that it took a few moments for Riku to scream and hurt himself trying to move.

"Kairi! _Kairi!_ KAIIIIIIRRRRRRRIIIIIIIII!!!!"

Tears mingled with blood and Riku's sobs were riddled with sharp gasps of pain, both physical and emotional. Kairi had been taken from him yet again, just as they had been gloriously reunited.

And now he lay there on the cold floor, broken, alone, and helpless.

* * *

Terra sat on her bed, unmoving, silent. No thoughts crossed her mind, as it had been for months. She had been a mindless puppet of Vexen, Marluxia, and Kuja for so long and she didn't even have a dissenting thought.

But the limits of the Slave Crown were about to be tested far more than they should when Kuja contacted her.

"Hello, dear Terra," his smarmy, eloquent voice chimed in her head. "I thought you'd be interested in knowing that I've found your home. Vexen went through your memories and was able to pinpoint your world's location. Isn't he a genius? Anyway, I found someone I think you might like to see soon. Does the name 'Maduin' strike a chord?"

Terra's eyes widened quickly, then returned to their normal, glazed fixation on nothing.

"Yes, I believe he's your father, is he not? It's amazing what you can learn when people are afraid of you and your powers. Well, you're not people, are you? I believe your kinfolk called themselves 'Espers.'"

It was clear that Kuja was trying to get a rise out of Terra, but under the Slave Crown's influence, it was impossible for Terra to make any sort of outburst.

But then Kuja pushed the Crown's limits too far.

"I've never seen such powerful creatures, you know. Especially your father. But, alas, I was able to overpower them all. I think Vexen would be _very_ intrigued by Maduin's powers. And wouldn't it just be lovely for you to see him? Of course, don't be offended if he doesn't acknowledge you, my dear. Vexen's working on another Crown, just for him. Doesn't that sound like fun? Ma ha ha ha ha!"

Terra trembled. Kuja's taunts had sparked a part of her subconscious, and after a moment she started to shake violently. The Slave Crown shattered when she fell off her bed. Her eyes flashed in a rainbow of colours, finally settling for a subtle shade of blue; her blonde locks became green.

Terra slowly sat up a looked at her hands, her free hands. Then she looked at the fragmented remains of the Slave Crown, the source of her oppression. This sparked anger in her mind which then turned to flat out rage. With a feral cry Terra began to shake again, almost to the point of a convulsion. She felt her blood burn in her veins as she morphed into a bright pink and purple creature. She was frightfully dangerous in this new form, yet she maintained a certain beauty in her fury.

Terra screamed incessantly and flew around her room, scratching and scraping every surface in a frenzied effort to escape. At last she managed to burst the door open and darted around the floor, leaving destruction in her wake: the walls had deep gashes in them; the pillars and columns came crashing down; chunks of the floor were torn up and hurled around, forming large holes in the walls.

From the floor below she heard Vexen's voice calling her name and wondering to himself what was going on. Her eyes flashed with sadism and she bolted down to the twelfth floor.

* * *

Sora and his group could hear Terra's cries and Vexen's cowardice as they made their way across the twelfth floor of Castle Oblivion.

"She's gone mad! Terra's gone mad and the Slave Crown's broken!" Vexen cried hysterically as he ran past.

"This isn't good," said Trace. "She's going to end up destroying the whole castle unless we can do something."

"But what _can_ we do?" Sora asked. "She's going nuts! We can't fight her like that."

"Too bad she didn't finish Vexen off," Larxene muttered.

Just then, Marluxia approached them. "Well, well, well. So we meet again," he said.

"I don't believe we've met," said Trace.

"Of course, forgive me. You must be Trace, correct? Unfortunately I will have to deal with you all in a moment. I must stop Terra's rampage."

"Well, let's follow him!" Sora said.

On the thirteenth floor they saw her. She had made quite a mess of the place and Marluxia was already pretty close to her, trying to coax her back to sanity and her normal form.

Sora and his companions stared at Terra, unable to comprehend how she had transformed. But it was clear that this new form was only making her stronger.

Terra caught sight of Marluxia at last and flew down toward him, ready to kill. He managed to avoid one swipe but Terra came back and tore his back to shreds.

Naminé gasped at the brutal sight, tears welling up. When Terra made a fierce, horizontal scratch across Marluxia's face, she buried her face into Roxas's chest and sobbed uncontrollably.

Larxene ran forward and tried to shock Terra to her senses; each spell was reflected back to her and shocked her companions as well.

Once Sora and Roxas regained mobility, they waited for Terra to get distracted by a still-standing pillar and went after Marluxia, hoping to finish him off. They were subsequently knocked back by Terra and Marluxia together. Axel, Demyx, and Trace joined in the fight, Axel and Demyx taking Terra on; Trace helping Sora and Roxas. Larxene stayed back to keep Naminé safe.

"THIS IS THE LAST STRAW!" Marluxia bellowed. He broke through his attackers and made his way toward Naminé. "Good to see you again, Naminé! You've caused enough trouble for me. Say goodbye to your friends!"

"Oh no you don't!" yelled Sora as his Keyblade slid into the groove of one of Marluxia's back wounds."

Marluxia shrieked in anguish and slapped Sora out of the way. Roxas repeated Sora's manoeuvre and blood spilled everywhere.

Terra escaped from her battle with Axel and Demyx and flew toward Marluxia, Sora, and Roxas, blindly willing to kill anyone in her madness.

Just then, Marluxia jumped away from everyone and closed his eyes. "This project was a failure! Vexen, you fool! You've destroyed us all! I now have no choice but to take you all down with me. Farewell."

Marluxia concentrated all his might into creating a pink orb of energy. The orb then sprouted thorns which covered it and grew. The look of his face was a mixture of pain and triumph.

As the orb became a colossal wall, Terra began casting a spell of her own. Trace ran in between them and focused. The spells from both Terra and Marluxia were taken from them before they were finished; Trace was obliterated, an agonising, bloodcurdling shriek piercing the entire castle.

As the castle flooded with light, Marluxia managed to escape unseen through a Corridor of Darkness.

When the light dissipated, Trace was gone, destroyed. Terra was dazed by the light and continued flying aimlessly around the party, but she was no longer screaming. She burst through the wall and darted off into the night, without any word from the others.

Sora and his allies were dumbstruck. Trace had actually died this time. He had sacrificed himself to save them and their hearts—the Illumina Heart had given itself up.

Suddenly, Sora gasped as the thought crossed his mind. "The Illumina Heart! Trace was the Illumina Heart! But he sacrificed himself. He died! So what's going to hap—?"

He was interrupted by three loud heartbeats. Then Sora collapsed.

_End of Volume One – Covenant_

_- VESTIGES OF THE HEART -_


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